


Dark Grounds

by Lelline



Series: Hot drinks and cold killers [2]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, Bad Puns, Crime RTX, Death, Demisexuality, Diddlefingers is a great crew name, Ensemble Cast, Everyone Has Issues, F/F, F/M, Fake AH Crew, Feels, Fluff, GTA AU, Getting Together, Jack Needs a Hug, Jack Pattillo POV, Jack the Barista, Kidnapping, M/M, Miscommunication, Multi, Murder, Non-Explicit Sex, Organized Crime, Plot Twists, Recreational Drug Use, Semi-established relationship, Sociopathic Tendancies, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Still Kinda a Coffee house AU, TW: Mental Health slurs, Violence, attempted sexual healing, everything is horrible
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-11-07
Packaged: 2018-04-23 20:58:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 59,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4892023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lelline/pseuds/Lelline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Average joe barista Jack is soulmates with five of the most dangerous criminals of Achievement City: the leaders of the Fake AH Crew.<br/>Really, what's the worst that could happen?</p><p>Finished. Sequel to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/4786907/chapters/10986836">Coffee</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Strong and Hot

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the sequel to Coffee and it will be picking up right where it left off. I'd recommend you go read that first (its part of this same series).  
> However I feel like I should post some warnings here. Coffee was my "romcom" story, where there's a little drama, but in the end love prevails and everyone is happy in love and its all nice and simple. This story is definitely the opposite. This is my attempt at what would actually happen, given the fact that they're all broken people and Jack isn't exactly ready for their world.  
> There will be bad things. The Fake AH Crew are not good people, and they're all going to make stupid human mistakes. Jack is going from being a permanent bachelor to being added into an established relationship between five people he doesn't really know. There is murder and violence and people will die. 
> 
> I can promise that if you stick with me, I will give you a satisfactory ending. I can't guarantee a happy ending. I can also guarantee that the next chapter will be up 7 days from now. The lovely Kayasaurus is my Beta and deserves all your love.
> 
> *EDIT*: Since finishing this project it has come to my attention that some of the terminology in this story is problematic. I will eventually try to edit it to be more reader-friendly, but unfortunately until then this story does contain people being called sociopaths, psychopaths, madmen, etc and a character who is ostracized for being "mad". It is heavily mixed into the story, so unfortunately if you are sensitive to this you should skip this story for now. I'm very sorry that I was unaware of some issues many people face and I have already edited and changed my other stories as not to upset anyone.
> 
> ** Please don't read this if you find mental health ableist slurs such as psychopath, sociopath, madman, etc triggering. **

"Uhh...," Gavin murmured in a throaty purr, eyes closing in bliss. "Oh yeah. That's perfect, baby, it's just what I need."

"Ohh yeah?" Michael encouraged him, "that's how you like it? Big and hot?"

“OH yeah,” He made a few noises, eyes fluttering closed as he took more. “God… This is the best I’ve ever had.”

“Yeah. That’s right,” Michael added, grinning as he took in the british man’s reactions. “You’d like having this every day wouldn’t you?”

"Yeah…," He paused to lick his lips, eyes meeting Jack's over Michael's shoulder. "Please Jack? Can we have this everyday?”

"You guys are assholes," The bearded barista couldn't help his disbelieving laughter, shifting slightly as he tried not to think about how orgasmic the two lads had sounded. It was obvious they were used to carrying on like that, the other men not even paying attention, but it was distracting to the newcomer to their strange relationship. "And again, the cafe does not do delivery."

"And yet here you are, for the second time," Geoff grinned, sitting at the head of the massive table. He was dressed in a new tuxedo, looking suave and yet not at all professional, the hand tattooes and twirled mustache ruining the look. The other men were all in variations of jeans and leather jackets.Ryan was wearing his skull mask, and they all looked out of place in the business setting. Not that Jack was doing much better, dressed in a black button down and tan pants under an apron, smelling faintly of coffee and sweetener from an earlier spill. His shirt hid the stains from his fumble, but his arm still felt a little sticky.

"That's what happens when you bribe people," Jack sighed, sitting down in an empty seat. "Are you bribing the manager or the boss?"

"Both," Geoff smirked, and pulled a 50 out of his pocket. “I can bribe you too if you want.”

“No,” Jack shook his head. “I’m already getting paid to be here. You don’t need to pay any more.” Jack hadn't known what to think the day before when his manager had offered him $20 to run some coffees and muffins down to a local bank's conference room. In fact, he had almost said no until he realized that with that twenty he could afford a used game or two the next time he was by the mall.

They had never done deliveries before, and no one had even asked them to. Sometimes they would get a request in advance for a few dozen pastries and coffees for someone to bring to a business meeting or party, but the people had never had a problem before with coming to get it themselves. For Jack to be getting $20 out of it, they would have had to give a pretty good bribe to earn the extra service. Of course, it made more sense when he walked in to find five of the richest men in the city waiting for him in the room. It was still strangely new to have three of his soul mates greeting him with kisses, especially with Geoff trying to cop a feel during the kiss. The coffees soon were getting distributed between them all.

That first time he had been more awkward, especially with Geoff. Jack had jumped at the first kiss from Gavin, nearly spilling the drinks everywhere. It had only been their second meeting, the first since Jack had spent the night and most of the next day in their condo. Even after spending a night in their bed cuddling, Jack was still trying to adjust to the occasional rain of kisses from the other men. Michael and Ryan were more particular about when they kissed him, seeming to prefer to kiss him goodbye then hello.

Today, they had been less overbearing with their greetings. That was soon made up for by how Michael and Gavin seemed intent to make drinking coffee sound a lot more orgasmic. He could almost believe it wasn’t completely made up on Gavin’s part. Gavin had only started drinking coffee again the day before, claiming he trusted Jack to not mess with his drinks. He had gone on to complain to Jack about how Geoff had once make him a gross cup of coffee that had smelt like shit.

The bearded man had shared a look with Geoff, but played along as if he had no idea that it had happened. He was lucky Gavin hadn’t bothered to remember what cafe the drink had come from.

Currently the two other older men were the only ones sat properly at the table, Geoff obviously amused by the antics of the three lads while Ryan stayed silent and still, unreadable. Gavin’s laptop was open in between them, where Gavin had been sitting before Jack arrived, but Jack didn’t know if it was actually doing anything. From his position he was closest to the door and all he could see was the back of it.

“You don’t seem to get us,” Gavin said, sliding past Michael to sit down on Jack’s lap. He didn’t completely face him, but the lad put his coffee down on the table so he could cuddle close. “Money isn’t anything to us. If you can use it, take it.”

“He’s right,” Ryan pointed out. “Use it to save up for a new car.”

“I don’t need a new car,” Jack shook his head. “Mine still works.”

“You’re the only person who could ever drive that deathtrap” Michael rolled his eyes, arms crossing as he sat down. He still was strange around Jack, almost like he was holding back. Jack suspected that the redhead wasn’t as comfortable with Jack being around them as he had thought that night. Ryan was still distant as well, not reaching out to Jack like the others were. Jack just considered it a positive sign that the man at least took off his mask to drink his coffee. His face was unpainted, marked only by dark circles under his eyes from insomnia.

“How did you get in here wearing the mask?” Jack asked when Ryan’s face caught his eye. “They must know what the mask makes you.”

“They didn’t notice dicks,” Geoff laughed.

“I know where all the cameras are.” Ryan said too calmly. “It's easy to avoid them.”

“Ryan was born to be a crook,” Ray chimed in. “He does everything right instinctively.”

“You’re one to talk,” Gavin said. “You were born with a sniper rifle in your hands.”

“How old are you Ray?” Jack couldn’t help but ask.

“He's twenty.” Geoff said. “Asshole has been in the business at least 6 years though. Was 16 when we found him and he was already a famous sniper.”

Jack couldn’t imagine it. Couldn’t imagine what he would have done if he had found his soulmate as an underage killer. Even as it were, they were all too protective of each other. The other men were all killers though.

It was hard for Jack to think about. It was even harder to picture. Ray was sitting in one of his bright purple hoodies, a DS in his hand. He looked harmless, all scruffy and laid back like a student or something. Even his gun seemed unreal, painted bright pink like some toy.

“I’m 35,” Geoff informed him, interrupting Jack’s thoughts. “Ryan is 29. Gavin and Michael are 22 and 23.”

“I’m 28,” Jack said. “So… You’ve been with Ray 4 years?” 

“We’ve all been together for four years,” Gavin sipped his coffee. “Though Ryan and Geoff waited until Ray was 18 to finally seduce him.”

“And what a seduction it was,” Ryan chuckled.

“You took forever to show up,” Gavin pouted at Jack.

“Not his fault,” Michael was the most reasonable about it. “Things happen when they happen.”

"I don't know," Ray joked. "We could have started robbing coffee joints for the free donuts. Used it as an excuse to look for baristas with 5 marks."

Jack kept his lips sealed shut, uneasy again about the reminders of their lifestyle. If they had done that, there's no way no one would have gotten hurt.

"Jack, did you have people say our lines to you?" Gavin asked suddenly. "Did you ever think you found one of us but it wasn’t?”

The man twitched, heart rate jumping. He was suddenly unsure of if he wanted to shove the other off his lap or hold him closer. All the others seemed to notice the start of the bad topic, Ray and Michael both ready to jump up and tug Gavin off, but Geoff acted first, pelting him with a doughnut. “Hey asshole. Don’t ask questions like that.”

Jack swallowed hard, knowing he could let Geoff save him from the awkward and painful situation but instead he decided to be brave. “Yeah.”

“What?” Gavin turned to face him, looking curious.

The bearded man wondered if it should be this hard to talk to his soulmates. If it was supposed to feel like he was revealing too much, when they were the ones meant to love him regardless. He closed his eyes, trying to pretend he couldn’t feel five pairs of eyes staring at him in surprise. He steadied himself, then murmured. “I had plenty of people say some of your lines. Especially Geoff’s.”

“Did anyone say my line?”

“For christsakes Gavin,” Michael growled. “Stop being a fucking asshole.”

“What? I’m just asking questions.”

“I ended up quitting for a while,” Jack forced himself to admit. “Tried different jobs.”

That started a brief awkward pause and Jack glanced around to see the others looking hurt. “Well that was fucking stupid,” Geoff scowled. “We might have found you sooner.”

Jack sighed, finally pushing Gavin off his lap. “I should get back to work.”

“Hey,” Ray finally shut off his DS, “Don’t let them scare you off.”

“I… I’m not,” Jack said. “But I gotta get back to work and this isn’t the best time or place for this.”

He wasn’t scared, just a little hurt. It was intimidating, standing up and facing the table full of men, men who already meant too much to him. Gavin hovered by Michael’s side, looking a little guilty and surprised. Jack wanted to take comfort in the sign of sympathy, wanted to believe that they would understand.

But even those few sentences had hurt to admit, and he wasn’t sure if he could continue to face them all at once. Not for the first time, he wondered how he would ever fit in, how he could join into relationship where everyone else had been together for so long.

“You could quit your job now,” Geoff said, as if it were an apology. “You’re one of us now. Once you move in you won’t need to earn any money.”

“Yeah,” Ray wiggled his eyebrows. “You could be a kept man. Our house-husband.”

It was tempting. He had only ever become a barista to find them all, and now that he had there was no reason to keep dealing with the early shifts and grumpy customers. “I want to keep working. I’d go crazy staying at home all day.”

“You could be our assistant,” Gavin said. “Run all of our bland errands, like to the shops.”

“That might be dangerous,” Geoff pointed out. “The moment people realize he’s part of us, he’ll have a target on his back, especially by the police.”

“It's illegal for cops to use soulmates against criminals,” Jack said.

“Yeah, but if you didn’t notice, the cops here are a particular brand of asshole,” Michael’s arms flexed, as if preparing for an oncoming problem. “It's easy for them to hide their own crimes. They can lose documents, accidentally file crimes against the wrong person, or just claim the person was resisting and beat them nearly to death.”

“That happens?” Jack blanched.

“Yeah,” Ryan nodded. “So as far as everyone else is concerned, for now you’re just our favourite coffee delivery man.”

Jack just nodded, glancing around again at the others. Geoff was frowning, but still relaxed in his chair, arms on the table. He didn’t seem as concerned, didn’t seem to even be paying as close attention as the others, but that frown was telling. Gavin was pulling the chair Jack had been using out a little before sitting on it. He didn’t look as grim as the others, though he was sitting stiffly, almost perched on the end of the chair. Ryan hadn’t changed at all, still blank faced and with such a neutral posture Jack wondered if the man ever showed genuine emotions. Michael was tense and scowling, not looking at Jack.

Ray just gave him an eager smile. “Don’t worry about it. If anyone ever gets close to you Ryan would skin them alive.”

Jack excused himself, wondering if the quiet man was actually capable of it.

\---

He had only a few hours left of his shift when he got back, and the time had flown by. Jack could not remember anything from the rest of his day afterwards. He managed to make it home to his apartment, sat on the couch, and woke up three hours later to an empty stomach and a dark apartment.

The sun had set while he was asleep, though his apartment never got much natural light to begin with. His leg banged into the coffee table on the way to the lightswitch and he did not have much left in his cupboards. He frowned, eyeing a cheap packet of ramen and the last few slices of bread. The bread had blue spots when he pulled them out, so he tossed it.

Sighing he settled on the utterly disappointing supper of ramen noodles. While the pot heated up he glanced at his bank account on his phone, jotting down a budget on a notepad. He then searched up the local grocery fliers, trying to make the most of his admittedly low money.

As he ignored the salty, fake chicken flavour of his noodles, he sighed, wondering what the others were doing. Wondered if they were eating their own supper that late. He knew in an instant he could call them up, and either eat food at their house, or have one of them pay for some groceries. He could have used that 50 dollar bill Geoff had offered him earlier. He was a single guy, with his own apartment, working a minimum wage job. He had never had much in the way of funds.

But it would have felt wrong somehow. It would have felt wrong letting the other man outright pay him to spend time with them. He didn’t want that. He didn’t want to be a burden or to feel like they were buying his affections. He wanted to feel like their equal, especially since most of them were younger than him by 5 years or more.

And it was exhausting.

It was exhausting being their soulmate. It was exhausting to try and be around 5 men with their own preconceived notions of who he was and who he would be with them. It was exhausting looking at the five of them, wanting to know everything about them but knowing he was better off not knowing all the bad. He was better off not confirming that if it weren’t for the marks on their arms, he wouldn’t have ever been on their radar.

He didn’t bother to clean up his dishes, feeling exhausted still as he made his way to his bed. His bedroom was so small, he only had a double bed. He couldn’t picture any of the others in there, couldn’t picture them anywhere in the apartment. It was so small, so run down, and they would hate it. But it was his.

He didn’t feel a real attachment to any of it, other than the fact it was his. Their apartment was theirs, their furniture was theirs. When he inevitably caved in and moved in with them, he wouldn’t have anything worth keeping. All his things would get sold, besides the few collectables and games that paled in comparison to their collections.

He couldn’t get himself to get out of bed once he had laid down, but he didn’t feel like sleeping either. Morbidly, he wondered if he would lose parts of himself in the move as well. If it would be easier for him to change to meet their needs than for them to change to meet his. If he would ever get Michael and Ryan to open up to him more.

He pulled out his phone, then hesitated, before typing in a quick search.

Can a soulmate be a bad match?

The results were heartbreaking.

There were a few psychology articles on mismatched pairs. There were a few reddit threads along the lines of ‘People with bad soulmates, what did they do and how did things go wrong’, but then there was the more solid facts. A rising trend in soulmate divorces and separations. One in every thousand soulmarks being one sided or belonging to someone who could never be with them. A story about a 90 year old being matched to a 5 year old. Stories from third world countries about child brides.

It was late when he finally shut his phone off, chest tight. After a nervous glance at the time, he sent a quick text to Ray. _Goodnight._

It was a relief to have five different texts back within moments.

_Ray: Goodnight <3_

_Michael: Night_

_Geoff: Pleasant dreams, asshole_

_Gavin: Goodnight babe_

_Ryan: Sweet dreams. I hope I’m in them. You’re already in mine._

Jack blinked at the last text, flushing a little before sending back messages the four he hadn’t originally messaged.

_G’night._

_You too, jerkwad._

_Night handsome._

_That was very smooth. Goodnight._

Shutting off his phone, his mood had improved a little, even if he wasn’t sure about the future.

He closed his eyes, falling into an uneasy sleep.

 

 


	2. Mugged

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could justify posting this a day early by pointing out its 8 am on Thursday in Australia right now, but I won't even bother. I've had a loooong day at work and I'm posting this now in hopes of kudos and reviews to pep me up.
> 
> The update schedule is kind of locked in for every Thursday now, and we have plenty of chapters on standby so that updates won't ever be delayed.
> 
> Much love to Kayasaurus for being the best beta ever.
> 
> There are some OC's in this chapter. They won't be major players and will only show up a few times. I just couldn't figure anyone to use in these positions. 
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy

The next day at work was hell, probably to make up for how easy the day before had been. Someone had called in an order which had been written as "12 (dozen) assorted muffins" when it turned out the customer had expected 144 muffins, an order that they would have never been able to fill on a weekday morning.

His coworker was walking on sunshine, smiling even as customer after customer came in with grouchy attitudes, complaints, impossible orders (a latte without milk had been asked for twice and no they didn't want cream, they didn't want an espresso or americano, they wanted a latte), and a general need to pay for things in small loose change so there was no hope for tips. The kid’s name was Remy, and he was definitely the kind of guy that blew all his money on weed. He occasionally tried to convince the owners of the shop to let him post his artwork, but it wasn’t good enough for him to ever make a living off of it. Jack’s mood worsened when a second coworker arrived. With three of them working, the constant rush of customers was not as bad, but Jack would have preferred it over having to listen to their excited conversation.

"I found my soulmate," Remy seemed to think he had whispered it but Jack was sure the whole cafe had heard.

"What really?" The second, a female college student asked. Jack glanced at her nametag, not used to working shifts with her yet. Her name was Lexie, and Jack couldn’t remember much about her. "Where to? Who are they?"

"She's a real estate agent. Older, experienced, pretty. We met at the supermarket last night."

"Really? Wow."

Jack tried to ignore the rest of the conversation, not comfortable with how it was making him feel. If the guys had been a real estate firm, if they had been lawyers, would things be that much easier? Would he be with them at that moment instead of apologizing to a business woman that it wasn't close enough to Christmas for them to have anything candy cane themed, but they could do something peppermint flavoured, and get something close to it.

At 11, the cops began to pop in, just as rude and as picky as the rest of the customers. One tried to hit on Lexie, but Jack quickly asked her to go into the back to check on the muffins to save her the hassle. At that point in time, there were just donuts and buns in the oven but she didn't complain. The cop gave him a dirty look, and Jack kept his face neutral and polite. It took him a moment to remember the warnings of the crew the day before, but he refused to worry about it, especially in front of said cops. He was just a barista, just doing his job, and they had no reason to look any deeper into him.

Would they know the moment he moved in with the others though? Did they have eyes on the apartment?  
He got to leave for lunch during the lunch rush, a rare treat which made him smile as he grabbed a little deli sandwich and retreated to his apartment, just for the peace and quiet. He popped an Advil before going back to work, head still tight and sore. When he arrived, Remy hurried off for his lunch, leaving just Jack and the college girl. The cops were gone for the most part, but he had to tidy up the tables. Someone had spilled soup on the floor beneath a table and it was dried in pretty bad, Jack having to get down to scrub at it.

The door opened and let more people in, Jack glancing over to see a handful of college age guys.  
He had dismissed them, knowing they wouldn't spot him right away and honestly not wanting to deal with people.

"What can I get started for you?" The girl asked, already moving to reach the cash register. The room stayed silent and Jack glanced up again, surprised to see the boys holding up a bag and a few knives. One of the cops noticed next, standing and pulling a gun. "Are you guys sure you want to do that." Jack watched in both amazement and amusement as the guys took off, leaving his coworker pale faced and shaky.

"Are you alright, miss?" The cop asked, approaching the counters.

"Yes," She said, still shocked. "Thank you for saving me. I never thought a place like this would get targeted." Jack swallowed down a curse as he watched a look of wonder cross both their faces

"Wait did you say-"

"Are you-"

They broke off into that cliche awkward laughter romcoms always used in that situation, the first, endearingly crazy meetings of soul mates. Lexie’s eyes were bright as she spoke to her soulmate for the first time. Jack just frowned, already knowing the rest of his day would still suck.  
\---  
When the victim was the new soulmate of a cop, it seemed that the Achievement City Police Force went above and beyond. A thirty second failed robbery turned into an hour long series of interviews, confiscated security footage and just generally lingering near the cafe in large numbers.

Jack was never more relieved than when his shift finally ended and he could slip away.  
He showered and pulled on some jeans and a sweater, rubbing his face in exhaustion. He wasn’t surprised when his phone buzzed, “Hello?”

“What the hell happened?” Michael asked, sounding like he was on a bike. “The cafe is full of cops.”

“Some stupid kids tried to rob us,” He sighed. “And it turns out my coworker’s soulmate is a cop.”

“Are you fucking serious? Are you alright?”

“Yeah. No one was hurt. I was just going out to get some groceries.”

“I’ll pick you up. Come down now,” Michael hung up before Jack could speak, leaving the bearded man staring blankly at his phone.

Did he really want to go with them? Did he really want to get himself tangled up in their ridiculous ways at the moment when he was barely staying on his feet? He found himself grabbing an old beat up jacket, his keys and his wallet anyways, before heading down to the entrance to the apartments. Michael was waiting there on a black bike. “Come on.” He tossed him a full black helmet

Jack sighed and slid on behind him. There wasn’t much to hold onto, and after a failed search for handles he grabbed onto Michael’s hips instead as they headed off. The younger man guided him through side alleys and bike paths like they were part of the main roads. He seemed loath to brake for any reason, outright running through two stoplights. Jack’s grip tightened, his stomach flipping as the last of his patience was sanded away. He did feel a little surprised to find all the others waiting in the garage. As soon as he was off Michael’s bike they were swarming him, seemingly checking for wounds.

“You alright?” Ryan asked, helping him with removing the helmet.

“Yeah. Nothing really happened,” The bearded man said, a little surprised by their overprotective reactions. “It was mostly just posturing by the cops.”

“His coworker is banging one,” Michael said as he parked the bike in the corner.

“Seriously?” Gavin’s impressive nose wrinkled. “Either way, I’ll have those punks ID’ed by the end of the night.”Jack just shook his head again in disbelief. 

“Nah. They’d have to be young kids to be trying to rob cafes.”

“Cafes full of cops,” Jack pointed out. “There were uniformed cops in the cafe at the time.”

“Seriously?” Ray chuckled. “That's kinda amazing. Did they have a gun?” 

“No,” The barista managed a smile, but wasn’t really feeling like it was funny. “Just a bag and some hunting knives.”

“Come on,” Ryan said. “Let's go up to our home. It’ll be comfier there.”  
There was a few boxes of pizza waiting on the counter, as well as a literal crateful of alcohol. It looked like they had been eating before he came, but Jack could hardly mind it since it meant that Gavin was dragging him over and passing him a beer and a slice of meat lovers before he was even sat down at the table. He wasn’t sure what he needed more at that moment, the grease or the alcohol, though the first few sips of beer threatened to upset his churning stomach.

“Does Michael always drive like a madman?”

“On the bikes? Yes. We all do,” Ray said proudly, snagging the only seat next to Jack. “Just don’t let Gavin drive you anywhere.”

“Don’t listen to them, Jack,” The brit said, taking a spot next to Ray. “I drive well. They just like to talk.”

“Talk isn’t what blew up that fire truck,” Geoff snorted. “Or that cargobob. Or those cars.”

“He also killed a box truck, dump trucks....” Ryan listed off.

“Remember the time he got the car wedged between a pole and a wall-”

“Yes!”

The other four were all laughing now, obviously lost in their shared past. Jack focused on the pizza, not letting anything ruin it for him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been able to sit with a group of people, with pizza and a beer and just relax. The conversation had somehow turned to games and Gavin’s failures in them.

“Come on Jack,” The lad said after a while, standing. “Lets go play something together since all these ingrates don’t appreciate me.”

“Alright, the rest of us will go have a quick meeting in the office,” Geoff said. “Then we’ll come show Jack what real gamers are like.”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “Screw you Geoff, you pissy little piss pot.”  
\---  
They settled in with the latest Far Cry, Gavin commentating on everything Jack did. Even with the brit plastered against his side, constantly speaking utter bullshit, Jack found himself settling in more and more. He was full of greasy food, beer, and had nothing important to do that night.  
It felt right that when Gavin stole the controller, his arm ended up wrapped around him. The brit was a little bony in places, but it felt too natural.

“Hey,” Geoff said as the rest of them returned. “You two done fucking around?”  
“If you aren’t, can we join?” Ray went over to Jack’s other side. “Or we could play a multiplayer game.”

Instead they all ended up fucking around with half a liquor store's worth of bottles, a bong, cards and a bag of chips, with a cartoon playing on the tv mostly forgotten. Even Ryan was relaxing. A minute later Gavin was murmuring to Michael and the redhead stood, returning to the table with a bowl and spoon. He filled the bowl with chips, beer, and started to eat.

"Another stupid dare?" Ryan asked.

"I bet him $100," Gavin said, already gagging at the sight of the soggy chips.

"Michael and Geoff will do anything as a dare," Ray explained.

"Anything?" Jack asked.

"Ah babe, you don't need to make it a dare," Geoff purred, throwing his arm around Jack. "So what kinky shit can you think up?"

"Nothing kinky," He said. "But I have something up your alley."

"And what will I get for doing it?" Geoff asked.

"Well, I can't offer you money."

"A date," Geoff said. "Just the two of us."

“A date?” Jack rose an eyebrow.

“We’ll go wherever you want.” He winked. “Then go to your house.”

“I’m not going to put out for a bet.” Jack stated.

“That's fine,” The older man glanced around. “The rest of us aren’t exactly going through a dry streak. We’ll wait until you’re ready.”

Jack chuckled, then stood, making sure to block their view. He grabbed an opaque shot glass, the baileys and some apple sour puss and returned with the shot, passing it to Geoff. “Take this, but don’t swallow it down for 1 minute. Instead just swish it around in your mouth.” Geoff raised an eyebrow, but just winked and dumped it into his mouth. By now, the others were all watching avidly.

“Cement mixer?” Ryan guessed.  
“Yes,” Jack smirked, watching Geoff fight through his discomfort. After around a minute, Jack lifted up a bucket for him to spit it out into but instead he swallowed it down, sipping his whiskey. “Gavin,” Geoff murmured, reaching for the blonde.The younger man went to him, looking a little wary. Indeed, a moment later, Geoff was pulling him into a kiss.

The brit needed the bucket, gagging into it as he spat out curdled bits of baileys.

“What was that?” Michael asked.

“You mix irish cream with something sour, it makes it curdle in your mouth,” Jack explained, rising to get Gavin something to wash his mouth out with. Someone knocked on the door, interrupting the moment. It made Jack freeze up, somehow a little angry that the rest of the world still existed.

“Come in,” Geoff called out, the others shuffling so that they were all together, Jack’s spot in the middle disappearing as if he had never been there. Ryan was tugging on his mask.

Three men and a woman came in, all dressed in shades of charcoal and brown, hats on their heads. There was a short dark haired man with a tight boxed beard. The next guy was not much taller, clean faced and almost resembled Michael. Jack would even go as far as guessing they were related, but probably not out loud. The last man was fully bearded, though it currently was straggly, and he looked like a hobo, with holes in his clothes and fingerless gloves. Finally there was a woman, taller than the rest and with reddish hair.

“Heist Build Team,” Geoff greeted with a grin.

The Michael-looking one was giving Jack a surprised look, but the barista tried to ignore it. “We scoped the place out. It's not well guarded, and there is never police copters in that area.”

“What is the closest police helicopter pad?” Michael asked.

“Jeremy?” The Michael-look alike turned to square beard.

“Around 7 km…. over 4 miles,” He shrugged. “If they know where to look, they could find you easily, but if you lose your tails before you get to the rendezvous point…”

“Sorry… But who the frick is this asshole?” The woman said, pointing to Jack.

“Jack….” Ray glanced at Geoff.

“He's a specialist,” Geoff said after a pause. “We’re negotiating out an agreement for him to join the crew.”

“What kind of specialist?” The hobo dressed one asked. “He looks like someone’s Dad.”

“He’s got that ‘Dad bod’ thing going,” The woman pointed out.

Geoff rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about it. He's non-combative so you won’t work with him much.”

With that out of the way, they continued their vague discussions of strategy and of some mysterious meet-up spot. It felt like forever before the newcomers were heading back out. “We’ll have a map ready for you by tomorrow,” The hobo called out.

“Thanks Matt.”

As they were left alone again, the others sighed, relaxing. Ryan tugged off his mask, glancing at Geoff. “They saw Jack.”

“I noticed,” Geoff said. “They’re loyal though. They won’t tell anyone.”

“There’s no way they believe he’s a specialist,” Gavin pointed out. “Wouldn’t be surprised if they know he’s a barista. They all live around that area.”

“I think Matt lived in that building,” Michael shot down some rum.

“Well, it's not like Jack was going to be a secret forever,” Geoff pointed out. “We’re gonna want to live together sooner or later.”

“And we will need to protect him,” Ryan said. “He’ll be targeted if he's seen with us.”

“Fuck,” Michael said. He stood, grabbing a bottle of water, then motioned to Jack, “Come on, it's late, I’ll get you home.”

“You’ve been drinking,” Jack pointed out.

“We’ve all been drinking. Except Ray but he's been hitting the bong like it's 1969,” Michael was getting angry again, though not at anyone in particular. “But you can’t stay here tonight. If word leaks at all that you were here, that you stayed the night, people will realize just who you are.”

“Michael,” Geoff said. “He can stay the night. People stay here all the time.”

“Yeah. Crew members we’ve known for years. Not jolly baristas with ‘dad bods’,” The redhead snapped. “People who can handle the heat, who can handle a gun.”

“But Michael…” Gavin whined.  
“Shut the hell up, Gav,” He grabbed Jack’s arm, dragging him out the door and towards the garage.

“Should you really be driving?” Jack asked once they were in the elevator.

“I’m a killer. I smuggle drugs, guns, launder money, and I’ve kidnapped and tortured before,” The younger man snorted. “I can drink and drive.”

“I don’t think it works like that,” The barista said. “Just cause you can handle a gun doesn’t make you immune to alcohol.”

“How would you know? Have you ever even shot a gun before?”

Jack didn’t know how to respond, not sure of how to say ‘no’ without sounding pathetic or innocent. He just shrugged, again aware of how ill prepared he was for their world. Michael didn’t look at him, just staring at the lights on the elevator buttons as they lit and dimmed, marking their descent.

“We keep thinking we can keep you safe. That we can keep you separate from all this, keep you hidden, but that's not the way our world works,” Michael’s voice was somber. “We think that we can just let you see the good. Only let the good find you. But this is going to end with you getting killed ‘cause one of us made a stupid mistake. We’ve got enemies that would kill you slowly, that would delight at the chance to hurt us all slowly.”

They reached the bottom, but as the doors opened, Ryan was already standing there. Michael froze, almost reaching for his gun, before the oldest man lifted his mask just long enough to let them see his blue eyes. “Its me.”

“How’d you get down here so fast?” Michael cursed, but relaxed.

“I’d tell you…” He trailed off.

Michael snorted. “What do you want.”

“I’ll take Jack,” He said. “You’ve drank more and you’re upset.”

“And you aren’t? Don’t pull that stoic shit with me. You know just as well as I do what is going to happen at this rate.”

“Yes,” Ryan was already headed for the car. “But I also know that it's pointless to freak out about the possibility of word about Jack getting out, if Jack has already died in a car crash.”

There was a pause, then Michael sighed, nudging Jack out of the elevator. “Go with him then. I’ll see you around.” There was no goodbye kiss. None of them had given him one actually, just forcing him out to go and grumbling about it.He approached a black car, one that was a good mixture between looking non-descript but fancy. Ryan already was blasting the heat, the loud rush of fans the only sound in the car as they pulled out of the garage.  
\---  
They didn’t speak until they were nearly to Jack’s street. It was the barista that broke the silence, glancing at the madman. “What do you think will happen to me?”

“Nothing,” His grip on the steering wheel tightened, and somehow that made Jack relax a little. It was nice to have a visible reminder that this man was going to try and protect him. “When people realize what you are, they’ll also realize how much of a shitstorm we’d raise if anyone hurt you. Those interested in keeping things as relatively low key as they are will step in and make sure no one targets you.”

“Then why is everyone worried,” Jack said. “Geoff must realize that at least.”

“Because when that happens, you can’t be Jack the barista anymore.”

“What would I have to be?” Jack looked down at his hands as they parked in front of the entrance.

“More,” Ryan’s voice grew colder. “More, but less. You’d have to sell parts of your soul. You’d have to come to terms with our world.”

“I’m not sure I could,” He opened the door and started to leave, to retreat.

“I don’t want you to,” Ryan said before he could close the door. “I’d rather you stayed away. I agree with Michael, you can’t belong with us in our world.”

Jack just retreated to his apartment, stomach twisting.


	3. You're my cup of tea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mind the new story tags. 
> 
> You guys get an extra update today since it's Canadian Thanksgiving. :D  
> Thanks for all the kudos guys. You'll get chapter 4 on Thursday.  
> As always, much love to my beta Kayasaurus.

Geoff showed up to Jack’s work at the start of his shift three days later.  
It was obvious that Geoff had been awake all night, the man smelling oddly of campfire smoke and the sea. His mustache was crooked, his hair a little too ruffled, but Jack hadn’t heard from any of them in days and seeing that impish smile made his heart skip a few beats.  
The mustached man was the only one in the shop, it being way too early on a Saturday, and that meant the crime lord could lean over the counter to steal a surprisingly chaste kiss before ordering two large coffees.  
“Come over after your shift,” Geoff said, “The others are done panicking.”  
Jack frowned, passing him his cups. “Is that really a good idea?”  
“Probably not,” Geoff gave him a soft look. “But are you really willing to stay away from us permanently? Just because of a little danger?”  
“No,” Jack sighed, running a hand over his face. “I’m really not. I know I should.”  
The older man reached out, touching Jack’s shoulder. “You should be with us, the rest of the world can just fucking deal with that. You’re part of us.”  
“But the question is what part,” Jack pointed out. “How is this going to work.”  
“It just will,” Geoff squeezed Jack once before letting go, taking the cups and heading out. “Text one of us when you’re ready. We’ll have someone come and pick you up.”  
“And if I don’t text?” He asked, though they both knew he would.  
Geoff shrugged. “Then we'll wait until you do or until someone loses patience.”  
\---  
Jack was sending the text to Ray before he had even left the cafe, that jittery feeling he always got before seeing them coursing through him again. It felt unhealthily addictive as he changed into clean clothes and got a shower, eager to get the scent of coffee off his skin. It was Ray who was waiting for him by the door, the man driving his bifta.  
“Jack!” He called out, excited. “Get into my sweet ride.”  
Jack zipped up his jacket before climbing in, “Nice, but isn’t it too cold for this this?” The roof was on it, but without doors or a windshield it was a bit cold inside.  
“Fuck yeah, but we look cool,” He drove them towards the penthouse, sneaking a kiss from Jack as soon as they were in the garage. "We missed you."  
Jack couldn't help but flush a little at the sentiment. "It's only been a few days. And any of you could have visited the cafe."  
Ray pressed against him as they entered the elevator. Jack hadn't expected it, losing his balance slightly, which Ray took advantage of. Within moments the smaller, younger man had Jack pressed against the wall, wind chilled fingers slipping under Jack's coat and shirt to meet the soft warm unprotected flesh of his stomach. Jack shivered at the chill and Ray laughed into the kiss, now pressing his full hands against Jack. "You're freezing," Jack murmured, meaning to sound a lot less affectionate and more annoyed. Since he couldn't hide his delight at the touch, he tried revenge instead, fingers slipping past leather and cotton to press against the small of Ray's back.  
The noise that Ray made was husky and needy, making Jack groan in response. Ray was warm and solid, his back smaller than Jack's or any of Jack's previous flings. He deepened the kiss, tasting every inch of the sniper’s mouth.  
Ray drew back with a smirk, stepping back a little just before the door dinged. Jack wondered if Ray had done this before, making out with one of the others on the way up. He wouldn't be surprised if it was a regular thing, especially with how well he had it timed.  
Jack was a little wrecked just from the kiss, but Ray didn't seem to mind, eyes a little dark as he kept the elevator door open long enough for Jack to stumble out. Ray unlocked the door, but had to take a moment to wiggle the key free as it caught in the lock. Jack didn't hesitate, slipping into the dimly lit apartment and flipping the switch.  
The first thing he saw was Ryan's ass, flexing as the man moved. The madman wasn't wearing a mask and his hair was loose, shifting with his movements and sticking to the calves of the man he had nearly bent in two beneath him. Jack was frozen, all of his blood rushing straight to his groin. Ray stepped in a moment later, coming right up to Jack before noticing what had the barista so transfixed. He let out a huff of a laugh. "Hey, you guys are either scarring Jack for life or giving him wank bank material."  
The couple on the couch froze, then Ryan turned to face them, his face covered in badly smudged makeup. Bruises were all over his neck and there were bites and scratches across his chest, bright and swollen compared to the multiple scars already crossing the skin. Gavin broke the silence with a strange gurgle. He squirmed and practically fell out from beneath the other man, then sat on the floor stunned as his eyes met Jack’s. He was covered in little smudges of paint and had his own bruises on his legs and hips. His skin was tanned right down to his hips, then covered in pale skin until mid-thigh. Jack got an eyeful of a leaking uncut cock before the blonde made a quick mad retreat, vaulting over the couch and dashing to the bedroom.  
Ryan just shrugged, grabbing his mask and some of their clothes before following the brit, unashamed of his naked body. He paused when he reached them, then wiggled his eyebrows. “Join us if you want.” He sounded half wrecked, hoarse and out of breath.  
“Fucking tease,” Ray groaned as they watched the naked man walk away.He waited a moment to see if Jack would recover, before just dragging him to the table and passing him a beer. “Do you need therapy now? Or some sweet man love? Cause I might know a guy…. or three.”  
“I’m….” Jack cracked open the beer and took a large drink, staring down at the bottle as he tried to calm down. “I don’t think I should. I’m not... “  
“Hey man don’t sweat it,” Ray said, touching his shoulder. “We can wait for you to adjust…. Have you been with men before?”  
“Yeah… But not more than one at a time….” Jack took another heavy gulp of beer, “And not for a few years.”  
“Then it just means we’ll all get more to show you,” He winked.  
The topic turned to some old alien movie, then to how much Ray hated minecraft, before they were interrupted by Gavin and Ryan, both freshly showered and dressed in just lounge pants and oversized shirts, Gavin’s shirt offering ‘mustache rides’ for 5 cents. Jack had turned red, but the three beers he had already drank made it easy to ignore how uncomfortable he was. He felt stupid about it, having just made out with Ray and fantasized about the puerto rican doing the same with the others, then feeling awkward and uncomfortable when faced with the others naked and consummating their bond. Still, he made a point of sitting on the opposite end of the couch when they sat, trying not to look at the spot that was miraculously unmarked from the earlier activities. The only sign anything had happened was the stray shirt still on the floor, a smear of black paint on the neck.  
The four ended up on Halo, laughing as they tried to crash their warthogs and glitch out the warp. Ryan’s voice was rough, and he occasionally coughed. It was Ray who figured it out first, bursting into laughter and making him accidentally step off the catwalk and fall into the abyss.  
“You guys were trying to cure his cold with sex weren’t you?”  
“Yeah,” Gavin shrugged. “So what?”  
“You know that's not exactly a scientific cure. It's more likely you’ll just catch it now,” Ray laughed.  
“I don’t believe that,” Gavin said. “I won’t let myself get sick.”  
“Besides, you gotta admit it's not like it's a bad way to spend the afternoon,” Ryan said, glancing at Jack. “Gavin’s big mouth is good for some things afterall.”  
Jack choked on his own spit, bright red and trying to pretend he was anywhere else. “Oh Jack,” Gavin said, voice going deep in a hopefully joking sexual tone. If he was being serious with that voice, Jack wondered how he ever got laid. “Do you need Doctor Free to take a look at you? I think you need a full physical.”  
“Doctor Jones is also on call,” Michael said from right behind them, making Jack jump. It seemed like he and Geoff had arrived unnoticed a few minutes before, bearing takeout containers and more beer. “What the fuck are you idiots doing?”  
“It's a game called Halo,” Ray supplied helpfully. “I think Geoff may have heard of it before.”  
“Shut up assholes,” Geoff said, going to the couch to greet everyone with quick kisses. “Did anything important happen today?”  
“Jack saw me and Ryan naked,” Gavin said, either not noticing how Jack twitched at every mention or ignoring it. “Got a good view of us fucking on this couch.”  
“Fuck Gavin,” Michael sputtered.  
“Yeah, that's what I was doing,” Ryan said, before starting to cough again.  
“Well, I’m sure the two of you are full after guzzling each other’s dicks but we got some takeout. Lets eat it before it gets cold.”  
\---  
“Kerry says he saw Burnie today,” Michael started once they were all sitting at the table.  
“Fuck me. Really?” Geoff glanced at Gavin.  
The brit shrugged, “I’ll check for signs, but you know that bastard is impossible to track. I haven’t heard from him in months.”  
“Is it an RTX?” Ray said, looking around as if there would be a clue in the apartment. “Why would they host one here?”  
“Who the fuck knows. Gus hasn’t podcasted anything,” Ryan scowled.  
“Are they bad?” Jack asked, a little hesitant to get involved but the others seemed freaked.  
“No,” Gavin said. “They’re kind of… our bosses. We just don’t know why they’re here.”  
“You have bosses?” Jack asked. “Like its some big crime company?”  
Geoff shot Gavin an unimpressed look. “Look, you’re better off not knowing right now, especially if they’re in town. Just keep your head down and we can handle things.”  
“I’m more interested in talking about how we can handle you,” Gavin winked at Jack. “Wanna help me cure Ryan of his cold?”  
“Oh, good idea,” Geoff said, “Jack looks tense as balls. Do you know what's good for relaxation?”  
“Back off,” Jack finally snapped, dropping his fork on the table. The room fell silent as he tried to reign in his anger, knowing he’d just look like an angry kitten compared to these guys. “I’m not ready yet. I might never be at this rate.”  
“Sorry,” Gavin said after a pause.  
“We’ll wait,” Geoff said. “Don’t worry man, we don’t mind waiting. It's just something to joke about. Relax.”  
After a pause, Ryan managed to drag Ray into a conversation about scopes and soon the table was all talking again.  
Except Jack.  
Jack just stirred his food around, feeling foolish and childish and yet rubbed a little raw. He was debating asking for a ride home. Maybe he needed to try and meet them all one on one for now, or maybe in smaller groups. He was being reminded of being at a friend’s house in junior high or high school, sitting at the dinner table with a family he wasn’t part of. It didn’t feel like eating with boyfriends, or sitting with even friends.  
Again, he wondered if there was something wrong with him. With their bond. If there had been a cosmic mistake pairing him to them. Or if his whole life was some cosmic joke, the marks on his arm shaping him into a barista when he still kinda hated coffee most days, seeing it as just a means to stay awake.  
After supper, Ray ducked into that side room, the one that Jack had never seen inside of, and came back out with something covered on a cart.  
“So we did get you something to make you feel more at home,” The sniper said a little proudly, a flash of excitement in his eyes.  
“Really?” Jack sat up a little, a bit ashamed of how quiet he’d been.  
“Hey, we know it's not exactly easy sometimes trying to join into a relationship with assholes like us,” Geoff said, foot bumping into Jack’s. “We’re full of drawbacks, and this penthouse is already filled with crap. But we want you to eventually be part of us. We want you here. We want to have your crap here with our crap.”  
“So we bought you something to start you off,” Ryan said, hand landing on Jack’s knee in a surprisingly non-sexual way. “We thought you’d appreciate it.”  
Jack smiled, feeling his fickle heart do a little flutter as he met their eyes. “You didn’t have to.”  
“Bullshit,” Michael said. “You have too much cheap shit in your life. Let us class you up.”  
Ray pulled back the cloth and it took everything in Jack not to outwardly react.  
“Its top of the line,” Gavin said proudly. “We even got it upgraded to heat faster.”  
“We’ve bought the beans too,” Geoff nodded, “It can grind them up here, and there's also a milk frother.”  
“A coffee machine,” Jack said, glad he at least didn’t have to hide his surprise. He was somehow managing to keep his smile, though he knew he would go crazy if he let himself think about it. Somehow, he was keeping himself detached from it all, not wanting to let the others know just how much he wanted to take the machine and toss it through the glass windows just to watch the thing smash on the sidewalk.  
“Now you can make us coffees here,” Ray winked playfully. “Maybe even wear a little apron.”  
Jack rose, kissing each of them and trying to focus on how they had tried. How excited they were to try and please them.  
They tried to pick a movie afterwards, Gavin trying his hardest to see Titanic for some reason but Geoff dead set against it. When Jack had looked to the others in confusion, Michael had mimed crying and pointed to Geoff, but he figured that he had to have misinterpreted the meaning of the gestures. There was no way Geoff had cried watching the Titanic.  
(Jack had cried, but he wasn’t exactly a tattooed badass).  
They settled on AVP, though by the time the researchers had reached the temple they had all mostly forgotten the movie in favor of debating dumb things and trying to find the best way to arrange themselves on the couch. Gavin in particular never seemed to stop moving, squirming on laps and rising to get people new drinks.  
As they got ready for bed, Jack was a little relieved to see there were new sheets on the bed, the dirty sheets shoved into the hamper. Jack stripped down to boxers and an undershirt, glad he’d planned ahead again, and was soon climbing into bed. The lights were shut off before the others climbed in and he was soon surrounded by bodies, Ray’s cold hands pressing into his back and it felt like Ryan was in front of him.  
For a while, Jack couldn’t sleep, mind on the black machine still sitting on the cart in the kitchen. He wondered if he should bring it up with them, how much he hated his job, how much he hated coffee most of the time. But he could see them using that as another reason for him to move in. And he knew he wasn’t ready. He knew he still had too many doubts, too many unspoken issues. He fell asleep still fretting, but he thankfully avoided dreaming.  
In the morning he felt better. It was hard not to feel good, waking up in a tangle of limbs and sleepy kisses, someone cooking bacon and eggs in the other room. They all walked him down to the garage, and suddenly he was being pulled into a line of kisses. It was Ray first, quick and sweet, then Gavin, the brit nearly missing his lips and jabbing him with his beak of a nose. Michael was quick and passionate, like a burst of flame. Then Geoff was there, going in for a quick grope as he kissed him.  
Ryan drove him home, the other man wearing face paint. As he was dropped off at his door, he was dragged in for a quick kiss. The mercenary chuckled as he saw Jack afterwards, making the barista flush.  
“See ya,” Jack gave him a quick smile.  
“See you tonight.”  
He got ready for work, but found himself sidetracked as he wondered about the others. He was getting himself mentally prepared to leave there was a knock on the door. No one was in the hallway when he answered, instead there was just a strange package on the ground. He was lifting it up before he realized that it was a bouquet of red roses, wrapped in thick white paper and a green ribbon. There was a note attached.

_Sorry about the couch sex_  
_-GRMGR_

Jack was still chuckling when he went to work, ignoring how Remy was walking on sunshine and ignoring how Lexie and her new cop boyfriend came in just to order some stupid drinks while they both made cow eyes at each other. Jack was too happy to notice the familiar group of teenagers outside the cafe.  
At the end of his shift, he barely showered, shoving some clothing into a bag before texting the others. He already knew he wanted to see them again. As Gavin answered though, he could already tell something was wrong.  
“We were gonna call you,” Gavin said. “Theres…. There's a…. Thing. We need to leave town for a little bit. We won’t be able to talk to you while we’re there..”  
“Is it something bad?” He frowned, stomach dropping. “Is it that RTX thing you mentioned?”  
“Yeah,” Gavin said. “We’ll be back in a few days.”  
There was a shuffling noise and suddenly it was Geoff on the other line.  
“If anything happens, anything sketchy at all, call us. But until we get back… we won’t be able to do anything. Keep your head down. We’ll text you if we can, but I doubt it.”  
Jack nodded, even though they couldn’t see it. “Alright. Be careful. I’ll see you in a few days.”  
“We… Alright,” Geoff hung up, the dial tone ringing in Jack’s ear like a siren.  
Jack just looked around at his empty apartment and empty cupboards, only finding comfort at the explosion of red roses perched on his table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you Thursday <3


	4. Can't we just all get oolong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since we've passed the 50 kudos mark, you guys get an extra update this week. This may be a hint that you can earn extra updates throughout the story by giving a certain number of reviews, or when we hit kudos milestones. (You might wanna keep that in mind now that the story is picking up a little and I get to give you cliffhangers.)
> 
> Hurray for my awesome beta Kayasaurus and for non-Jack POVs.

RTX always made Gavin feel small.  
He didn't know why, they were practically stars there. Small town crooks and mercenaries would try and catch their eye, especially Geoff's. He had been one of them once, just an illegal British alien with a rap sheet, accompanied by his boi Dan. The other man had gone back to the UK after attending an RTX, realizing that the US was a little too ridiculous.  
Gavin had left RTX with a job with the head crew and a good few contacts.  
He had spent his first year working directly under Burnie, tracking people down for other people to hunt, or tracking down friendlies and delivering sensitive packages or information.  
Burnie had even gotten him citizenship in the US. Burnie had wiped his record of the few mistakes he'd made back home. 

And then he had been sent to deliver a message to the AH crew. He'd tracked down two of them in some seedy bar, only to accidentally walk in on a botched assassination attempt by another crew.  
He remembered seeing Mogar turn and aim straight at his face before he could make a sound. Gavin just stepped closer, a little impressed by how easily Ryan was dismembering the bodies and shoving them in garbage bags, "Back off and get your giant nose out of our business asshole."  
And he had felt like a child, giddy and delighted as he finally heard his words. "Whoa. For a moment there I was afraid."  
The skull masked madman nodded, but it seemed to take Mogar longer to recognize his words.  
"You shouldn't say that to a man holding a gun." The skull chuckled, and a moment later Michael seemed to clue in.

So really, RTX was the reason he met his soul mates, and was full of people who idolized the Fake AH Crew in many ways, two very good reasons for him to like it. But there were other crews there that were just as big, just as deadly. There were brawlers who could out maneuver Michael, kingpins who were more successful than Geoff, snipers who could match Ray, mad men almost as scary as Ryan , and hackers and finders well beyond Gavin's level.  
What set the Fake AH Crew apart was their bond. It was rare for two criminals to be soulmates and be able to work together. Pride, overprotectiveness, egos, or just bloodlust would get in the way. Ten or fifteen years ago, a meeting between an american crime lord and their soulmate would end with the soulmate being killed, one way or another.  
Most of those crime lords were gone now. There was something about killing your own soulmate that always unhinged people beyond even what the crime world could handle. They had been too wild, too dangerous. When RT had swept in, taking them down and changing the way crews worked, it had paved the way for the Fake AH. The five of them were dangerous, a good balance between skill sets and loyal to each other above all others. They never broke apart, never had inner conflicts, and if you targeted one of them you had to target them all.  
Barbara and Lindsay were the only other obvious soul bond pair, the ladies running an international smuggling ring called RWBY, focused on rare items. They were close to the AH-ers, Lindsay being a close friend to the Michael and one of their minions, Meg, was Gavin’s ex. The ladies were lingering outside Burnie’s makeshift office near the center of it all, and Lindsay rushed forward to pull Michael and Gavin into a hug. “What are you assholes doing here?”  
“Where else would we be?” Geoff chuckled behind them. Ray was next to him, the puerto rican’s eyes glued to a gun booth nearby. Ryan was in the back, and it was a good thing he was expected to wear his skull mask the whole time, because the man was still sick as a dog beneath it. Gavin’s doctorate in sex therapy hadn’t helped somehow.  
Burnie’s door opened, letting out a man with a long beard and piercings. It was Adam Ellis and instantly the five soulmates tensed, shifting so that their hands were closer to their weapons.  
Adam or Gilsby or Cardin was a man of many names, but he was relatively benign. He was good at his job, good at managing ships and working with foreign arms dealers but he lacked a bloodlust. Alone he was actually kind of nice and had worked with them in the past. His soulmate had died before he got into the business, the mark tattooed over with black roses. The only problem anyone ever had with the bearded man was Adam's partner.  
Indeed, before anyone could breathe, Joel Heyman was stepping out behind Adam. His smile sent shivers up Gavin's spine, the absentminded twist of his lips not matching the empty hollows of his eyes.  
Geoff had worked with Joel two decades ago, when the two had been teenage gangster-wannabes. They had run in a crew together, may have been friends before. Geoff never talked about before with Gavin. He didn't even talk to Ryan about it. All Geoff said was that before, Joel had met Tucker. They weren't allowed to have soulmates in the crew. When Tucker had been discovered, Joel had been given a gun and told it was either Tucker or Joel getting shot in the head that night. Joel had shot his soulmate without hesitation. He then shot his boss, had shot nearly the whole group. Geoff barely got away with a graze on his arm.  
That man was now a monster, one of the few people as feared as Ryan and just as bloodthirsty. Adam and Joel were a team, closely knit and nearly unstoppable. Ray had seen Joel wipe out half a rival crew using just a boat, when the men had all been on land. There were rumors of his other exploits, and a little digging had given Gavin proof of at least two of them. He had videos of him hitting a 500 lb kingpin with a car (or maybe 4) 26 times before exploding the cars and the barely living foe. He also had documents of Joel getting his hands on baby animals, mostly big cats and bears, supporting the rumors that he sometimes raised pets to do his killing for him.  
Adam was the only person Joel seemed to care about, though no one was sure if it was platonic or more.  
“Geoff,” Joel said, distant eyes landing on Gavin’s oldest soulmate. Geoff’s face was blank, but Gavin could see the familiar little wrinkles on his brow. He knew seeing Joel was sometimes hard on Geoff, whether it was because of how much Joel had changed or if it was because the man was a reminder of how much Geoff would have lost if he had met any of them before RT came.  
“Joel. You look healthy,” Geoff shrugged, acting carefree.  
“Burnie wants to hold a meeting in ten minutes,” Adam cut in. “AH Crew, RWBY, come in and get comfortable when you’re ready. I don’t think it’s good news.”  
Adam walked on, leaving the AH Crew and Lindsay with Joel. The psycho looked at them all again, nose twitching. “You all reek of coffee. Did you bathe in the stuff?”  
Ray managed a shrug. “You know what it's like. Alcohol and weed are great but what people like us need are stimulants.”  
He laughed, stepping aside to let them in. “I like you guys. I’ll be sad when I kill you one day.”  
Inside Burnie was sitting behind a massive desk, a few rows of chairs set up on the other side for them all to sit at like this was a PTA meeting. Ryan chose to lean against the wall instead, an obvious tell to everyone that he was unnerved and staying on his guard. It just made Joel laugh a little.  
“Are you being a creepy fucker again?” Burnie asked, a little exasperated.  
Technically, Burnie wasn’t the head of RT, but since no one ever met the real leader, Sarge, he served as a stand in. He was surprisingly normal, as was his assistant Gus, but they were the best at talent scouting and setting up crews. If anyone in RT needed more men or to hire on some temporary help, they were the ones to arrange it.  
Barbara arrived before anyone could respond, the blonde followed by Gus. She headed straight for the empty seat by Lindsay, blonde curls held back in a ponytail that showed off the cut of her jacket. Lindsay gave her a smile and she almost returned it.  
"Anyways," Their almost-boss said, looking over them all. "Glad you could all make it on such short notice."  
"What's going on?" Geoff asked, leaning forward a little in his chair.  
"That's what we're trying to figure out," Burnie said. "Someone is targeting and killing off the smaller RT crews."  
"What?" Adam said. "Why haven't we heard about this."  
"Why the fuck would we advertise it?" Gus said. "We're trying to keep this under wraps. The last thing we need is for people to think we're letting someone target our people."  
"But you are," Joel said. "You're supposed to know who targets us before they can even act."  
"Just someone? How do you know it's just one person?" Lindsay asked.  
Burnie laughed. "We don't, but if it's a group they're working together. They're smart to know how to work around us, to do all this without being caught. For more than one person to know this without a source getting leaked out to us means they're tight knit."  
"How?" Gavin asked. "I helped with that system and not even I could break past it. You need to get past surveillance, facial recognition software, trackers... How have they not made mistakes?”  
"We're trying to work things out," Burnie said, "But in the meantime, we need you to be careful. Sooner or later they'll want to target you guys. They'll want to gain the attention, gain your territory."  
"Who has been taking the territory?" Ray asked.  
"Everyone," Gus said, "Even you fuckers. We've been dissolving the territories, trying to keep some kind of balance."  
"If they're going to target someone, they'll target the Fake AH crew," Joel said, sounding bored. "Their new soulmate must be a civilian if they're not here with them."  
"How the hell do you know about Jack, you creepy asshole?" Gavin felt the words spill out, covering his mouth afterwards.  
"Gavin," Ryan growled, voice raspy from illness.  
"You found your last soulmate?" Lindsay asked, surprised. "Really?"  
The five didn't really respond, too uneasy about the huge grin crossing Joel's face. He looked like he was getting ready to claim a prize, a little too pleased to have discovered a potential weakness. Gavin wanted to run home. He just wanted to find Jack, curl up against him, and listen to his heartbeat.  
If they did anything now, it would be leading people right to him. As it was, RTX was a slight risk, especially since it was hosted in neutral cities where all the crime lords had to stay in hotels and rented mansions. There was security in place by Gus and Burnie, but they did not share their security strategies with other people. Those at the conference were safe, perfectly anonymous, and even if the Feds, the CIA, or any other branch of law enforcement knew about RTX, knew where it was, they wouldn't be able to touch them. But they could monitor the lines, they could listen to phone calls. So if Gavin so much as texted his bearded soulmate, there was a good chance Jack would end up in prison for life.  
"Anyways," Burnie said, "Congrats on adding another person to your massive orgy, but that's all I needed to say to you. Go enjoy the conference and buy some useless shit. We will meet again tomorrow."  
Joel followed the five of them as they exited the room, still smiling. "Where are you guys headed now?"  
"We're going out to supper," Geoff said.  
"Why not just have something quick. There's bread over there," He looked at Adam. "You could toast it for them couldn't you?"  
"We don't do well with toasters, remember?" The maniac’s partner laughed.  
“We’ll see you around,” Ray said, grabbing Geoff and Michael. “We’re off to bang in our hotel room.”  
They did bang, but only as a way to relieve stress. They were stuck there, watching the time tick by as they waited for the chance to slip back to Jack’s side.  
“We’ll have to train him,” Michael had not spoken until they were done, the redhead tangled between Gavin and Ryan. “I don’t give a damn anymore what he wants. He won’t survive if he doesn’t learn.”  
“We could keep him safe,” Ryan said, voice so hoarse it was hard to understand. “Keep him hidden.”  
Geoff shook his head. “Trying to hide him or train him will just make him do something stupid. We’ll just have to convince him to move in and then hope for the best.”  
They all woke early the next day, unable to sleep.  
______________________________________________________________________

Miles away, Jack was too tired to get up  
For once he did not have to open, instead going in at a more reasonable 10 am and getting out at 7. Still, he felt lethargic and grumpy, not looking forward to having to interact with people. It was Lexie who had opened, the girl just working her last two weeks before she would leave to ‘focus on her schoolwork’. Jack wasn’t sure if it was her schoolwork or the giant ring on her finger that was making her leave, but he couldn’t begrudge her either way. The girl passed him a coffee as soon as he slipped behind the counter.  
“Good morning Jack.”  
“Morning Lexie,” He murmured, taking a heavy gulp of coffee. There weren’t many people in the cafe, but there was a blonde woman standing five feet short of the counter, eyes scanning their menu like there would be some hidden gem hidden between the typical drinks and pastries.  
Her eyes darted to him while he was looking at her, and suddenly she smiled, strolling up to the counter. “You must be Jack.”  
“Uhh… Yeah,” He shrugged, unsure of who the woman could be. “Are you here to get a drink?”  
“No,” She said, hand reaching under her jacket. Jack could suddenly see the gun and knives hidden inside, knew she wasn’t there for just a coffee. “I’m here to pass on a message to the Fake AH Crew.”  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
Gavin was the one to get the text, the brit the only one to still have his phone on, in case there was an emergency. They always left one phone on, as a ‘just in case’, but they had never had a real reason to need it. It was just an extra precautionary measure in their minds, something done to quell of the guilt whenever they had to leave.  
They had never expected a text.  
Gavin had been the one to get the text, but it had been Ray who had read it first. They had been sitting at a table, eating lunch and ignoring the gawking crowds. Lindsay and Barbara were with them, the groups banding together to try and avoid the creepily friendly Joel.  
The puerto rican had just made a wounded noise, dropping Gavin’s phone and freezing up like a scared child. “What was that Ray?” Geoff had said, reaching for the phone. “This is a delicate piece of mach-’  
He nearly flicked the phone once he had read it, hoping that when the phone died it would make the text on it disappear as well.  
There was just three words, sent by Kdin.  
_Jack was murdered._


	5. Hello Darkness my old Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure you haven't accidentally skipped a chapter before reading this.  
> There have been two extra chapters released this week, so if you haven't read anything about colds, go to chapter 3. If you haven't read Gavin's POV, go to chapter 4.
> 
> Much love to Kayasaurus for beta-ing.
> 
>  
> 
> This in Ryan's POV and is definitely not lighthearted.

Ryan had known Jack was theirs from the start.  
He had known all of them on sight. It had to be a side effect of how little he felt for everyone else. He could feel things when his eyes were on them, passion, worry, protectiveness, and a gentle need to see them be pain free  
Too often he wanted to kill them. He knew the world, knew what it was capable of, and he wondered if it was better to kill them while they were happy and healthy rather than see them eventually be hunted down and either killed or incarcerated. He had tried to kill Geoff plenty of times when they had first started to sleep together. He had never gotten as far as to draw a weapon, never slipped the poisons into Geoff's cup or was able to make himself grab the other man's neck. But the intention had been there.  
The first time they had met, he was supposed to be killing Geoff. The man had been foolish, had been out drinking alone when he had too many enemies. When Ryan had cornered him, he had just blinked at him sleepily and asked, "So are you here to kill me? Cause it’s kinda smart to kill someone when they're drunk as dicks."  
But something stopped Ryan’s hand. Something made him reach out, to support his soulmate. "I could be convinced to drop this job."  
Back then, the old gangs were only starting to give way for RT, and Ryan didn't think the peace could last. He didn't think he would be able to keep Geoff. He had seen what some crews would do if they had two soulmates captured. He had participated, though he had not enjoyed it as much as he usually would have. It had seemed gauche somehow, torturing and killing one soulmate as the other just watched.  
Geoff never seemed aware of how close Ryan was to killing him. He held Ryan at a distance, having tattooed over his soul marks before they had met. But he still trusted Ryan, still met with him for sex so wild the two could stay in bed afterwards and pretend it was just exhaustion, that they weren't addicted to just the feel of skin against skin.  
One night, Geoff's fingers ended up on the words written on Ryan's skin. "There are six of us," He murmured softly, "One day we're going to meet four more assholes and form the strangest family anyone has ever seen."  
"Family?" Ryan frowned, the word like ash in his mouth. "We won't be a family."  
"We will," Geoff said. "We will have to be to survive."  
Ryan never responded, mind instead idly going to their next meeting, when he would finally kill Geoff. He didn't. He had every reason to, had every opportunity to, but he didn't. By the time Geoff started taking over Achievement City, Ryan was telling himself that Geoff was a survivor. That they would keep things under wraps and even if it was ever discovered, Geoff would go down in a blaze of glory or would survive.

Then Geoff called him one day, half panicked saying that one of their soulmates was pinned down on the other side of town and Geoff couldn't help them. The normally strong man had been panicked and afraid and it made something twist inside the madman. He was agreeing to help as soon as Geoff started talking.  
Ryan had gone, went to find his soulmate and save them. He told himself that afterwards he would kill him. He would stop himself from becoming weak. The further he let his bonds develop, the more he would have to lose when things went wrong.  
The moment he saw Ray, he knew he had already lost. Ray had just been 16, all scrawny limbs and broken glasses, He had needed a haircut, needed a shower, and his clothes had been too worn down. The only thing that stood out about him was the bullet wound in his calf and the sniper rifle in his hands, pink and gaudy. The kid hadn’t been afraid of him, had only smiled and cracked a joke about his mask, made it too easy for Ryan to like him.  
He let Ray get too close, let Geoff pull them both into his new crew. They had to survive, had to stay together. Ryan stayed awake some nights just watching Geoff and Ray sleep, at a loss at how to protect someone. He was made to bring death, not to prevent it.

Some nights, he had to leave and just kill. Just get the darkness out of him, so they wouldn’t see it.  
Michael was the easiest to fall for. The man was all passion, all anger and violence and the days that they were set loose on rival crews were Ryan’s favourite, the redhead looking amazing and dangerous when he was blood-splattered and victorious. They had sex constantly, wild and rough. None of them were touching Ray, Geoff citing statutory rape laws that were ridiculous to follow when they lived off breaking the law. But Michael was of age, Michael was up for anything. The first time Ryan had both Michael and Geoff in his bed, he realized everything was worth it.

Despite everything though, he doubted they understood how much he enjoyed the grimmer parts of their jobs. None of them enjoyed murder. They were good at it, and they enjoyed the ability to beat the crap out of anyone who bothered them, but none of them were as damaged as Ryan. None of them could feel the urges, feel the relief as someone lost their life to Ryan. They all had lines. They all had things they would never, could never do. Ryan didn’t have the same. The closest he had was just the sheer need to be with them, to make them happy.

Gavin wasn’t as easy for him to take in, though he forced himself to when he realized that the others were already in love. The brit was foolish, rude and his aim was terrible. He gagged if he had to touch a body. And he gagged whenever he tried to give them oral. But Gavin never flinched. Gavin never minded when Ryan came home covered in blood and guck. Gavin helped hide Ryan’s murder sprees. After a few months, Gavin was an irreplaceable part of their family.

Jack would never be useful.  
Ryan had known what Jack had been the moment he had seen him. He had known even as Michael dismissed the bearded man, had known even as Gavin also denied the bond. But he never spoke up.

Instead he waited, he planned. Jack’s building had very little security beyond a simple buzzer door. On Thursdays, there were plenty of pizzas delivered to the building. At 7 pm on Thursday, an elderly woman would always arrive home, fumbling a little as she unlocked the door. She was either half blind or a drunk, and either way she wouldn’t remember the face of a seemingly ordinary pizza man.  
He debated things as he helped the others on planning their next heist. The mask hid his, no doubt, vapid expressions as he debated methods on how to do it. He decided on strangulation, since it would leave no blood trail and would require no equipment. He had bought an insulated bag like what pizza companies would use, and filled it with garbage bags for cleanup. Jack would never belong with them. Jack would be killed if he joined them. Ryan had known that from the start

As they all raced home from RTX, Geoff flying a stolen plane as Gavin tried desperately to call Jack’s cell, Ryan could see all the reasons why he had wanted to kill Jack before he could get close. Before the others would understand what Jack’s death would mean. Ray was shell shocked in the back of the plane, bottom lip bitten bloody. He hadn’t spoken a word since they had gotten the text. Michael was just as wrecked, pacing up and down the aisle like a lunatic. He had destroyed a seat, stabbing into it with his knife until the blade had snapped, and now he was just trying to get rid of his pent up energy.  
Gavin was quiet, just dialing and redialing Jack’s number, rarely letting it ring before he hung up. He had brought up surveillance footage, had brought up finding out who filed a hit against the man, but now he was just sitting there with the phone, a wreck. Geoff just looked determined, as if there was a way for him to reverse it all. He didn’t seem to believe it, didn’t seem ready to let go.  
Ryan just felt numb, numb and guilty. He had known this would happen. He had known what to do. 

But the night before he had planned to do it…  
The night before he was going to kill Jack, he had a dream. It had been simple, just a dream that ran him through his plan. He had gotten past the old lady, and tricked her into letting him in. It was easy then to slip up to Jack’s door, to knock and wait.

Jack had been in all white, looking soft and innocent as he had answered the door. He had been confused, but when he saw the gun in Ryan’s hands, he had spoken the last of Ryan’s soulmarks. “Then would you like a coffee? And lock the door, last thing I need is more armed men in the cafe”  
In the way of dreams, the words made perfect sense to Ryan, even as they were away from the cafe and there was no coffee. Instead there was just Jack, large but defenseless and Ryan went in for a kiss. The man tasted of peppermint and cinnamon, and as Ryan reached up, he let the murderer get a hold of his neck.

Ryan snapped his neck, squeezing a little too hard. Jack’s body had slumped to the ground and as Ryan looked up, he could only see mirrors everywhere. His reflections were twisted, and he could hear them laughing. But what lingered once he woke up was the look on Jack’s face. The glazed sheen to his eyes, the unnatural pallor. Ryan had gotten out of bed and barely made it to the bathroom in time to vomit. He had been shaken by the dream, suddenly wishing he had the bearded man near him.  
He had been too weak to push past it. Had been too weak to tell himself that Jack was a dead man either way. That he would be targeted far too soon. And now Jack was dead anyways, now the others felt the loss too strongly. He could have spared them all.

He remembered the few kisses he had shared with Jack. He could still taste him on his lips sometimes, the man just tasting like chapstick, not like peppermint. He could remember the feel of him in his arms, the thrill of seeing Jack’s expression when he had seen Ryan naked.  
“Ryan?” Gavin called out. “Ryan, you’re shaking.”  
The murderer shook his head, closing his eyes. “I’m fine.”  
“No you aren’t,” Geoff said, still flying the plane. “None of us are.”  
\---  
They all piled together into a car as soon as they landed, having to leave the plane in the desert landing strip as they rushed to the hospital. Michael drove, but no one complained as he kept to the speed limit. It seemed stupid, doing so much to rush back to the city and then dragging their feet before reaching the hospital. Ryan wanted to smack himself. To smack them all. To get out and run to the hospital. Ryan wanted Jack to be there, sitting in a hospital bed, healthy or just recovering.  
Matt and Jeremy met them at the entrance, Jeremy taking the keys to get rid of the stolen car. Matt stood there awkwardly for a moment, looking like he wanted to say something, but then he just seemed to shrink into himself a little. They were an intimidating group, but no one seemed to notice them wandering the dark hallways. The morgue was down below, and they were greeted by a grim faced doctor.  
“There’s signs of torture,” He warned them as he lead them back towards a covered gurney. “Cause of death was a gunshot wound, but there’s too much water in the lungs and burns to the torso and arms.”  
“Just let us see the fucking body,” Michael snapped.  
The doctor nodded, stepping out of the room. After a pause, Matt followed him out.  
They were left alone with the body, a sheet still hiding it from view.  
“Fuck,” Ray said, sinking to his knees. “We got him killed.”  
“We didn’t do anything,” Gavin said. “Whoever did this….”  
Geoff let out a small wounded noise. He didn’t look like a crime lord in that room, none of them did. He just looked like a tired man, someone who had already seen too much.  
Ryan had to be the one to do it then. He steeled himself, feeling that numbness inside him start to tighten, as if it were a dam about to burst. He paused at the head of the gurney, then moved slightly to block the view of the others. If it was bad, if Jack was mutilated or just too dead looking, the others would never get over the sight.  
Ryan wasn’t even sure he would recover.  
Slowly, he peeled back the sheet. The first thing he saw was that almost red hair, those familiar eyes looking up at him with the haze of death. He covered the body again and began to laugh.  
“Ryan?” Gavin murmured, concerned.  
The madman peeled off his mask, makeup already smearing from the tears pouring down his face. He couldn’t stop the laughter, it being pulled out of him as if his body just couldn’t handle the sudden emotions.  
“Ryan,” Geoff said, grabbing onto him. “Was it him.”  
“It's Jack.” He said, leaning into Geoff like a lifeline. “It's _JACK_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemmie know what you think <3


	6. Too Steep a Price

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the lovely Kayasaurus, beta extraordinaire told me I was being mean by making you wait until Thursday for this chapter.  
> That, plus all your lovely comments, made me cackle like a madwoman and scare my cats. Your distress fueled me for a day or two.  
> And then I remembered I was Canadian and felt super sorry and asked her to get a chapter ready for you guys.
> 
> So here is Ray's POV of the funeral.

Ray was never good at funerals or wakes.  
It was always a little too overwhelming, being surrounded by people who were trying to pretend everything was okay. Nothing was okay. Nothing was ever okay for anyone close to the deceased. It had been only 5 days since they had left RTX. Only 5 days since that phone call that had changed their whole world, leading them from the convention to the morgue.  
His hands were shaking from the cold the moment he stepped out into the chill. It was sunny out, the sky not knowing that today was the best day to rain. Ray hated the outdoors even on a good day, hated the too bright sunshine, hated the nip of the wind. But inside the funeral home had been too stagnant, and he just needed time alone.  
Cursing, Ray checked his pockets, finding a lighter but not a blunt. He had already burned through it all the night before. He had some hash back at the penthouse, as well as a first aid kit containing harder drugs. There had to be some reason so many people turned to morphine, or he could take some of Ryan’s sleep medication, sleep through the pain.  
He sighed, rubbing his face with his hand and trying to snap himself out of his funk. He would lose more than he would gain, turning to harder drugs like that. But it was still tempting, as deranged as it was. Some selfish part of him wanted to do it, to check himself out of life a little bit before he lost anyone else.  
But he had to be strong for the others.  
"Here," The only other man standing out in the cold offered him a cigarette straight from the package.  
"Uhh... I don't smoke tobacco," He said, feeling more uncomfortable as he recognized the guy as one of Jack's coworkers. It was some young guy, probably even younger than Ray, and it felt strange to not be the youngest person around.  
"It's weed," He said, eyes bloodshot and skin pale. He looked wrecked, and Ray felt the same.  
Ray took the offered joint. It was quality stuff, but the resulting high didn't numb him near enough, even as the time went by. He debated asking if he had anything stronger, before deciding he was not low enough to buy drugs at a wake.

There wouldn't be a funeral. Jack had been an atheist and the cremated remains were already in a vase, sitting inside surrounded by tasteful pictures. It had been hard finding good pictures, and they had paid someone to make a group shot of them all together. They had never gotten a good photo as a group, never thought they would need one.  
It felt wrong, thinking about Jack being gone…

Things just felt worse when two big black SUVs pulled up. Ray stepped back, and the other guy snuffed out his own joint, but Ray kept his. Those weren't law enforcement vehicles.  
Barbara and Lindsay came out of the first one, looking apologetic and kind. Lindsay greeted him with a hug, ignoring the ashes from the tip of his joint as they spilled over her. She didn't say a word, just hugged him until he stopped shaking, then stepped back to look at him.  
"You alright?" Barbara asked, giving the high barista only a glance before dismissing him.  
"No," Ray shook his head, taking a quick drag. "But the others are worse."  
Earlier another wake had been taking place, the family much less somber than the Fake AH Crew. They had lost some little old grandmother, someone who had been due to die for years, and has been telling funny stories about her life. She had apparently lived a long happy life, leaving behind a ton of kids and grandkids and hadn’t been killed when she was just in her twenties and had just found her soulmark. She hadn’t been tortured and Geoff had nearly attacked them, in no mood for laughter or memories. The man was drunk by 10 am, and was now sitting by Ryan on the couch inside.  
Ryan was too quiet, looking like a ghost beneath his markup. He had left the night before, left for hours, and Ray wondered how many people had died the night before. It was funny how quickly they were falling apart without their soulmate, without their Jack, when they had gone without him for years.  
And now nothing could be done to fix them again. Now they would never recover.  
Michael came out a moment later, holding a real cigarette. Lindsay tried to hug him, but he shook his head, needing space. He was withdrawn, was broken down a little too much. It made everything hurt a little more, seeing the man looking so broken down.  
“Michael…” Lindsay said, voice unnaturally soft. “We’re here for you, okay?”  
“Yeah,” He said, voice rough. He flicked the cigarette away, crushing the butt into the ground.  
“Thanks,” He glanced at Ray, before walking back in, obviously dismissing Lindsay.  
Ray sighed, finishing his joint and giving the women a weak smile. “Sorry… We’re just… I don’t think we need support. I think we just need time…”  
They needed Jack.  
Barbara just gave Lindsay a look, “What do you want to do?”  
“I need to go in and see them all,” Lindsay said, eyes a little too worn. “If you want you can wait out here.”  
“Thanks,” The blonde said, nodding. Ray couldn’t blame her for not wanting to go inside.  
Gavin was the first person Lindsay found inside, the brit the only one who really returned the hug. Ray swallowed hard when he saw a glimmer of steel tucked into Gavin’s pocket, knowing it had to be a flask. Still, the brit gave Lindsay a week greeting, eyes too bloodshot to be dead. “Thanks for coming.”  
“You know we got your back,” Lindsay said softly. “I love you guys.”  
“Thanks Lindsay,” He murmured softly.  
“We’ve got your back too,” A familiar voice said from the doorway. Ray stiffened, just as the others all burst into life. Ryan and Geoff rose from the couches to stand near Gavin and Ray, while Michael just shifted, hands drifting to his hidden firearms.  
Joel and Adam had arrived, both dressed in layers of black. Joel held flowers, mostly calla lillies and forget me nots-as if it were normal to bring flowers to a wake. He walked in, headed straight for the urn. He put the flowers there, caressing the smooth lid of the urn gently before turning towards them all.  
It was obvious the man was trying his hardest not to smile, something a little smug in his gaze. Ray grabbed onto Ryan’s arm, Lindsay grabbing Geoff, and it was a miracle Michael didn’t attack.  
There was no doubt as to who had arranged the hit.  
There had only been a few people within earshot when Gavin spoke Jack’s name. There could have been someone spying, some sort of surveillance, but it was unlikely given Gus and Burnie’s paranoia.  
If Joel hadn’t outright arranged the hit, he had at least let people know of Jack. Within hours of Joel learning about him, the hit had been arranged.  
Ryan shifted in Ray’s grip a little, breathing hard like a caged beast.  
“Fuck off Joel,” Lindsay said finally, frowning at him.  
“I’m hurt,” he said, making his way to Adam’s side. The bearded man had his arms crossed, though his eyes were trained on Michael’s hands. If Michael did anything, there would be a full out battle on their hands, and Ray didn’t like those odds. The Fake AH Crew and RWBY would win, but not without Ray losing more of his family.  
“Thanks for the flowers,” Ray managed to say, meeting Joel’s eyes. Ryan reached back, grabbing Ray’s hip as if afraid he would disappear. “But this is a private event.”  
“Really?” Joel said, glancing to the door. That scrawny barista kid who had given Ray the weed was standing there, red eyed and looking lost.  
“Yes. Friends and family only,” Geoff managed to say, voice barely more than a growl.  
“I thought we were friends,” Joel said. “We used to work together, remember? I was on Blue Team, you were on Red. We did so much together…. Hell I was the one who told you to start your crew."  
"You pointed out no one would accept a 'six way fuckfest' in their crew. That's not exactly an encouraging call to start your own.”  
“Geoff you should be happy with what you have left,” Joel said. “Look at you all, five strong men, you’re survivors, you’d do whatever it takes to come out on top. Just like me and Adam…”  
“Joel,” Adam said, “You’ve said enough. Lets leave them be.”  
“Fine,” He said, giving Geoff a wide grin before he headed out the door.  
Adam paused a moment before he followed, grimacing a little before murmuring. “I am sorry for your loss. I remember what it was like losing my soulmate.”  
He left before anyone could answer.  
“Those fuckers,” Michael hissed, grabbing the flowers off the table and throwing them against the wall hard enough for the ties to snap, flowers falling everywhere.  
“He did this,” Geoff said, face going pale. “Joel did this.”  
“Are you guys okay?” Barbara asked as she slipped inside. “Was that Joel?”  
“You’re all fucking insane,” The scrawny kid said, glancing at the urn before glancing at them all. “Super fucking insane.”  
“Who is that guy?” Lindsay asked.  
“Fucking Remy…” Geoff said, voice a little defensive. “He was Jack’s friend.”  
“We have to kill Joel,” Ryan said, interrupting. “I have to kill him. I have to fucking do it.”  
“I’ll help,” Michael said. “We’ll kill him whatever way you want but I want to fucking feel his heart stop in my hands.”  
Ryan shared a look with the redhead and Ray wondered if this was a tipping point for them both. If Gavin would have to start covering for two murders…  
Lindsay looked quietly at Barbara, then sighed. “Joel is our ally guys. If you have proof he targeted Jack… That he was the one who…. Then we can act. But until then you know Burnie and Gus won’t let you guys start a war.”  
“We aren’t starting a war,” Ryan said. “We’re starting a massacre.”  
“Lindsay…” Barbara said, “We should go. Let these guys figure out the rest on their own. We can’t get RWBY involved in this.”  
The redhead hesitated, then started to pull most of the guys in for hugs. “I’ll visit you guys next week okay? I’ll kick your asses at games.”  
“Sure,” Michael gave her a weak smile.  
“Jack loved games,” Gavin murmured softly.

The wake ended at 6, only the five of them left. They all hesitated, before taking the urn and pictures. The staff were waiting on the sidelines, ready to dismantle the flower displays.  
“What do you do with the flowers?” Ray asked after a moment.  
“We donate them,” A soft eyed woman said, “They get put in hospitals and public libraries.”  
The puerto rican nodded, then reached out to snag a rose from a display, not sure of what to do with it. It reminded him of the bouquet he had sent Jack not even the week before.  
He made himself drop it in the parking lot. He didn’t know why he did it. He didn’t know why he took it, or why he suddenly couldn’t bear to hold it, but that's what he did. As they drove off, he almost asked to go back, to grab the rose off the pavement. But he couldn’t talk, he couldn’t speak, suddenly aware that everything was over.  
“Are we really going to start a war with Joel?” Gavin asked, sounding lost and frightened.  
“We have to,” Michael said. “We have to for Jack.”  
“Would Jack really want us to kill Joel?” Ray asked, wondering what they were doing. “He didn’t like death…”  
“If he liked death we would have been able to keep him with us,” Ryan sounded guilty, sounded like it was somehow his fault.  
“He didn’t,” Geoff said. “He didn’t so now we have to get over that and get over him. But we can’t let someone get away with targeting our bondmate.”  
They parked in a apartment complex in a bad part of town. The men in the area weren’t part of their crew, but they still got a respectful nod and a wide berth as they pushed past a gang on the way to the building.  
Remy was waiting for them near the entrance, smoking a joint. His eyes were too puffy, his face too splotchy for any of them to believe that it was from the drugs, but he still managed a smile as he took the urn and lead them inside.  
His apartment was a shithole. He didn’t keep things clean, and there was barely room for a single bed, tv and a table in the main room. His kitchen was barely that, only giving him a twelve inch counter between the full sink and the old yellow stove. The refrigerator was yellow from tobacco stains, and the walls still had the outlines of old picture frames and a wall mounted phone, the white of the original paint showing where the smoke had never reached it.  
He was gentle as he took the urn, placing it carefully in the window. He glanced around, then chuckled softly. “She hated this place.”  
“I believe it,” Ray said, feeling an odd kinship for the man suddenly.  
“She told me she was a real estate agent,” The barista was still laughing, even as he seemed close to tears. “Told me I should quit work and she’d be my sugar momma as I tried to make it as an artist.”  
“Jack was always like that,” Geoff offered. “She would have loved to have you close, would have loved putting up your art everywhere.”  
“I thought it was odd,” Remy turned to them all. “I thought it was odd how scarred she was. How strangely she dressed. That hat… those hawaiian shirts… I had just thought she was weird like me.”  
“She was a powerful woman,” Michael said. “That's what matters. And she’s still going to take care of you. You can live off the money now. You can still have the time to work on your art.”  
“I don’t want the art. I want my Jacklyn… my Jack,” He turned to the urn of Jacklyn ‘Jack’ Patton, longtime member of the AH Crew, and he just seemed to break. “They killed her because they thought she was yours didn’t they? They thought she was your soulmate.”  
“Yeah,” Ray admitted, glancing down at his shoes. “They did.”  
“Fuck that,” Remy shook his head. “Fuck you guys. Fuck your Jack. She didn’t deserve that. We were going to be happy together.”  
“We’re going to fuck up the guys that took her from you,” Geoff’s eyes met Ryan’s. “We’re going to make them pay for everything.”  
“You’d better,” Remy snapped.

And with that they left, still feeling numb.  
Because in the end, their Jack was still gone. Jacklyn had died in his place, and they had made sure no one would realize the mistake. They had paid Remy off with enough money for the man to buy a small tropical island, they had convinced Gus and Burnie to help them hide any tracks, to help keep their soulmate safe.  
But in the end it didn’t matter. In the end Jack had realized the truth and left. Jack had realized that all they were was murderers, that to be with them, he would have to face some dark truths.  
And in the end, Jack hadn’t been able to handle it.  
The five went back to their penthouse, too numb from their losses to do more then strip off their clothes and try to sleep.  
Their bed felt empty without Jack. There was no lingering scent of coffee in the air, no thick arms sliding over them, keeping them near.  
Afterall, he now knew they would never see Jack ever again.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
 **Quick Note:**

Next chapter will be set a few days earlier and start to show everything that happened to Jack from his own POV. It will be set on the day the others all rushed back home on a plane. So don't get confused next chapter. <3  
  



	7. I love you so matcha, darjeeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much love to Kayasaurus for being an awesome beta.  
> We've hit 100 kudos so here is a free chapter. I'll still be updating tomorrow.
> 
> I'm delighted by all the reviews. Keep them coming.

_**Quick reminder:**_ **This is set on the day that the boys flew back, so it’s set before the funeral and everything else. You’ll know when we catch back up to that point.**  
__________________________________________________________________________

Jack’s shift had been long and uneventful after the tattooed blonde had left. She had been telling the truth, she had only been there to get him to give Geoff a cryptic message. When she had left, Jack had just felt any excitement he had leave with her. Suddenly it was just them, a nearly empty cafe, and the suffocating scent of coffee.  
He realized an hour into his shift that he didn’t have his phone, but he didn’t care. The only people he wanted to text or call were currently in another state, unable to use their phones. It made him feel so alone he wanted to just go to the penthouse. He just wanted someone nearby, a hand on his shoulder or a thigh pressed against his on the couch.  
He had to run to the supermarket after work and he did not even bother to swing by his apartment first. It was too chilly out to go without a coat, but Jack just found it refreshing, the wind cutting him down to the bone and making him forget the feel of warm hands and soft kisses. It was honestly a little far to walk, especially just for a jug of milk. By the time he got home he was cold to the bone and hungrier than he would admit.  
He started boiling water for some pasta, and finally went looking for his phone, finding it perched on the bathroom sink.  
There were seven missed calls.  
He blinked, heart rate skyrocketing as he stared blankly at the list. One from Ray, three from Gavin, one from his work, and then two more from Gavin.  
He hesitated, knowing they had told him not to call them, but if they had already tried to call them six times, it could have been important.  
He had no missed texts, so he just tried sending Ray and Gavin a quick text. Whats going on? Were you trying to call me?  
He had barely hit send before there was knocking on his door. He didn’t get the chance to answer it before it was bursting open, letting his five soulmates in. They were wild, grabbing onto him tightly and each trying to be the one to hold him close. Ray just went in for a kiss, hands buried in Jack’s beard.  
The barista stood there, arms pinned down as four men just clung to him while the other ravaged his mouth. Their grip was a bit too tight, and there was what had to be tears dripping down the side of his neck where someone had hid their face.  
Ray parted for breath, keeping their foreheads pressed together.  
“Guys…?” Jack asked, voice a little wrecked from seeing them so desperate. “Whats going on? Did something happen?”  
There were no real responses, but Geoff tightened his grip. Jack just stood there awkwardly, neck beginning to hurt from the odd angle he had to have to reach Ray.  
In the end, the only thing that got them to part from him was the sound of someone coming down the hallway. It was just Mrs. Welsh, the blind old retiree that had too many budgies, but the sound of her footsteps had ruined the moment. The five of them had pulled away from him, Ray going to close the door.  
Jack finally got the chance to look at their faces, and it was even worse seeing the emotion on their faces. They were all messes, between blotchy skin, red puffy eyes, and Ryan’s smudged makeup, but the worst of it was how Gavin and Michael were still gripping his shirt, both looking like they were afraid he would disappear.  
“What happened?” He asked again. “Whats wrong?”  
“We thought…” Geoff started, then paused to clear his throat. It didn’t make his voice any better. “There was a miscommunication. We were told you were killed.”  
The news hit Jack like a punch in the gut, but it seemed to hit the others harder, Michael’s grip on his shirt tightened, and Gavin’s hands trembled.  
They had been trying to reach him for hours, and they all were a mess. Jack couldn’t help but reach out for them all, to try and pull them in again and let him see he was fine.  
But the apartment was too small. He didn’t have much food, he didn’t have anything in terms of distractions and he doubted more than two people could fit on his bed,  
“Let's go to the penthouse,” He said softly, “Everything's alright now. I’m okay. I just forgot my phone this morning and I went to the store after work.”  
They all nodded, so Jack went to turn off the stove, dumping the boiling water down his drain. He went to grab some changes of clothing, his keys, wallet and phone, but as they headed down to the parking lot, Ray passed him the keys to their car.  
“Here,” He said, then nodded to a black Granger, modified with an extra row of seats so they could all fit inside. “You should drive.”  
Jack nodded, not questioning it since he could tell none of them were in a state to drive.  
Ray sat in the front, reaching over to grip Jack’s sleeve. “No cops will pull over this vehicle. Drive as fast as you want.”  
“What?” Jack blinked, then noticed the blue, white and red lights just over the windshield. “Is this…. No actually, I don’t wanna know.” He started the SUV, trying not to smile at the power of the engine.  
He had started off with the intention of obeying the laws of the road, but every time he glanced in the rearview mirror, his eyes would catch on the sight of his wrecked soulmates. Ryan had his mask on, but it didn’t hide his eyes near enough.  
Before long, Jack was going over 70 mph, his focus on the road as he made his way through traffic. It was surprisingly easy to maneuver the huge vehicle, and Ray let out a chuckle as Jack ran a red light, just barely missing a rusted old Voodoo. “We should get you to drive us everywhere from now on. You’re a natural.”  
“It's cause his car is so bad,” Geoff said with a weak laugh.  
Gavin joined in after a moment. “So his car is the equivalent of an athlete training on a mountain.”  
“Yeah,” Ray said after a pause.  
“Do you think Jack could drive down Mount Chilliad?” Gavin asked, “Without crashing?”  
“Why do you sound like this has been an ongoing thing for you guys?” Jack paused, then glanced at Gavin. “Please tell me you haven’t all been trying to drive down that mountain?”  
“Not the full thing,” Gavin said. “We’re not mental.”  
“You’re mental if you’ve been trying any of it,” He said, pulling into their garage. He backed into the spot. He was stopped before he realized how much of a rush he had been getting from driving, almost wanting to go back out there.  
The others were already slipping out of the Suv though and his door was opened by Ryan, the mad man tugging Jack out a little roughly. Warm arms were suddenly wrapped around Jack again, soon joined by another thinner set as Gavin came up behind Jack to join in.  
“Come on,” Michael said. “We can all cuddle in the penthouse.”  
There was a hesitation, before they headed to the elevator. Once they were in the enclosed space, hands started to drift along Jack again, one wandering up his thigh and making him have to swallow and think decidedly unsexy thoughts.  
It felt a little selfish to still be holding back, to still not be willing to give them everything they wanted, but he was not sure if his first time with them should be when they could barely stop themselves from smothering him. And he was still unsure of how he would do in an orgy, wanting to start slower and with less people.  
At the same time, being so surrounded by them all was the best thing he had ever felt, every brush of skin making him want to strip down to this skin and just let them touch him. He wanted them, wanted to sleep with them all. He’d spent more than one night thinking about them as he touched himself.  
It only got worse once they were alone in the penthouse, hands wandering under his uniform to press against bare skin. Michael managed to get his hand all the way up Jack’s shirt, but seemed content to just press his palm just over Jack’s heartbeat. The bearded man was surprised they couldn’t all just hear it, with how it was starting to pound.  
Geoff caught Jack’s lips, the man’s mustache brushing against his nose. They were all too skilled at kissing, while Jack was barely able to keep up. One clever flick of Geoff’s tongue made Jack groan, and suddenly Ray’s hand was starting to slip into the waistband of Jack’s pants.  
He was relieved when his stomach rumbled, interrupting the moment.  
The others laughed, pulling away a little as they looked around.  
“I’ll order a turkey,” Geoff said, pulling out his phone and heading towards the kitchen.  
“Order… a turkey?” Jack asked.  
Ray just grinned, pulling him towards the couch. “Let’s just say, you’ve landed yourself the weirdest sugar daddies in the world. We want turkey.”  
Jack frowned a little. “I don’t want you guys to be my sugar daddies?”  
“He’s got a point,” Gavin said. “We’d be sugar twinks anyways.”  
“That’s not a thing, is it?” Michael laughed, half climbing onto Jack’s lap the moment he sat down. The redhead seemed extra clingy.  
“It is now,” Gavin said. “I could wire the money tonight.”  
“Hey. Don’t give me money,” Jack said, glancing back to see Ryan headed for the bathroom. He looked back at the three younger men on the couch. “I’m fine.”  
“You can’t say that. We’ve all been inside your apartment,” Ray curled into his side, tucking his feet up. “The cockroaches are thinking of moving out of that place, it's so run down.”  
“It wasn’t that bad,” Michael gripped Jack tighter, “But you shouldn’t be there anymore. You should move in here with us.”  
“Isn’t it a bit soon?” Jack looked around, suddenly feeling pinned in. He shifted uncomfortably, eyes flicking back to Geoff as if the other man would come and rescue him.  
“Today…” Gavin trailed off, then reached out to grab Jack’s arm. “Today someone tried to target you.”  
“I know,” Jack said. “I talked to Griffon.”  
“WHAT?” Geoff practically hung up the phone, making his way to the couch with a worried look. “You met Griffon?”  
“She said that she needed me to pass on a message. Something about bad jobs coming from somewhere high up, and that while she wouldn’t bite, someone else would.”  
“Christ,” Geoff said, “How did she find you?”  
“We’ve been sloppy,” Ryan said, face freshly washed as he made his way to the couch. “But we can fix this.”  
“How?” Jack asked, glancing around at the crime lords as they all fretted over his safety. Their faces were so forlorn, and he just wanted to fix things. “What do I need to do?”  
Stay hidden,” Geoff said. “We bring you onto the payroll, fake a few jobs for you, then hire you on permanently when you’re ready to move in.”  
“No. He needs to move in now,” Ryan practically growled. “There's no hiding this. There's no hiding us. We got lucky this time that they targeted the wrong Jack.”  
“The wrong Jack?” The barista repeated, feeling a chill start to grow in his bones. “What do you mean?”  
“Remember when we were interrupted by some of our crew?” Gavin said softly. “There were three guys and a woman… She was named Jack too…”  
“Your name got dropped at RTX….” Michael said. “A very, very bad person ended up hearing it. Within a few hours there were hits out for a Jack in the Fake AH crew.”  
“So they killed her?” His heart stopped, eyes wide. He had known the whole time that they dealt with death everyday, but to hear that one of their people, someone he had met albeit briefly, had been killed was a bit staggering.  
“They tortured her first,” Ryan said. “They tortured her and then killed her painfully. Which is what they’ll do to you if they find you.”  
Jack shuddered, closing his eyes and trying not to think about it. “So what do we do?”  
“Stay here with us. If you still want to work at that stupid cafe, that's fine, but its not safe for you to stay in that building. It's not secure,” Ryan said, voice gentle. “We will figure out how to kill the asshole who’s put a bounty on your head, and try and misdirect him into thinking he got the right Jack.”  
“We’d have to get Burnie and Gus to help us cover everything,” Gavin said. “They’d be the only ones able to pull that off.”  
“Fine,” Ryan said. “We let him think we won and first chance we get, we cut that mother fucker down.”  
“I fucking love that idea,” Michael murmured, before pulling Ryan in. The older man ended up on his knees between Jack’s legs, leaning over Michael and Jack. Geoff was right behind him, and with Gavin and Ray on either side of him, everything just seemed to click into place.  
“I can stay here until this all blows over,” Jack agreed after a long moment. “We’ll get through all this.”  
Michael kissed him, and suddenly they were back to making out. This time did not progress the same, the men seemingly more intent on kissing every inch of Jack’s face and neck rather than getting their hands on him. It was a mess of lips and tongues, Jack losing track of who he was kissing or even how time was passing.  
When the kiss ended, Jack still felt a little flushed and giddy from it. Everything felt right in that moment, and he wondered if he should just move in with them all permanently, if he would be happier just being surrounded by these men every hour of every day.  
Gavin pulled him in for another soft kiss.  
___________________________________________________________________________

Jack got a long hot shower before bed, a ridiculous smile stuck on his face. He was still a little love drunk from the kisses, and the following turkey dinner had not helped much. Now he just felt like he was floating. He toweled off, then went to brush his teeth when Michael came in.  
The redhead seemed a little out of it as well, going straight for the toilet. Jack doubted he had realized it was even Jack in the bathroom, let alone the fact that Jack was standing naked, the towel left in the basket.  
Jack was frozen, toothbrush in his mouth as he decidedly looked away from the redhead, not exactly wanting his first glimpse of the redhead’s pride to be while the man was peeing. He was debating diving for his towel, when Michael finally seemed to realize his own mistake, the redhead letting out a startled noise even Gavin would be impressed by.  
“Shit… Jack… I didn’t realize it was you….” The man finished up quickly, then paused once he was safely tucked away. Jack was too stunned by the turn of events to know how to react, whether or not to be ashamed or to act like nothing was wrong.  
Michael went to the other sink, washing his hands and drawing attention to the lines written on his inner wrists.  
_Hi what can I get you?_  
_Whoa for a second there I was afraid_  
_So you're the new kid challenging us huh?_  
_So on a scale of one to ten how against crime are you?_  
_Nah, it’s all just pure skill_  
Jack spat out his toothpaste, glancing at the younger man. “My first line to you looks so tame compared to the others.”  
Michael laughed a little, face going soft as he followed Jack’s gaze to his arm. His other hand traced the letters affectionately. “It's not a bad thing. You might keep us sane.” His gaze went up, meeting Jack’s. Jack flushed a little, and Michael seemed to follow the flush as it traveled down his skin.  
The gaze burned down Jack’s skin like a brand, and he unconsciously took a step back. The counter was suddenly further away, giving Michael a better view and he could see the redhead swallow hard as his gaze met Jack’s length.  
It was Jack who had to close the distance, pulling on soft curls as he gripped Michael’s head. The redhead returned the kiss, deepening it and driving Jack back a little. The taller man’s back hit the door, but Michael just reached over to lock the door. Michael’s hands went to his own pants, dropping them down to his ankles and leaving himself in just tight boxer briefs as he pressed fully against Jack, his warm body trapping him against the cool wooden door.  
Jack gasped, losing himself to the friction of their bodies. Michael knew what he was doing, his mouth swallowing every noise the barista made as they just grinded to completion. Afterwards, Michael tugged him back into the shower, kissing him softly under the spray. He seemed a little desperate still, gripping Jack like he would disappear. Jack just wrapped his arms around him, still a little delighted at the slide of their skin together, even if he wasn’t willing to do anything more that night.  
“We won’t let anything take you,” Michael’s voice was a little wrecked, the words whispered against Jack’s lips. “Nothing can ever happen to you.”

Neither were aware that in five days time Jack would be gone.


	8. Overcaffeinated and not tea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure you've read all the previous chapters before continuing.  
> Chapter 7 only went up yesterday, and Chapter 6 went up Friday/Saturday, so judge where you left off accordingly.
> 
> I'm almost done with this story. :O I don't think there will be a sequel so I might be trying out different things in my oneshots to see what I should write next. Please feel free to give prompts even if its just a basic plea to be nicer in my next story.

It was three days before Ryan was completely recovered from his cold.  
In the meantime, everything had gone nearly perfectly. Jack had spent his time at work or in the penthouse, stealing kisses with whoever was around. After he had fooled around with Michael in the bathroom, there was less mentions of going further, but more heat and promise in everyone's eyes. Jack guessed that they had worried he wouldn't want sex, but now that he had shown some interest they were giving him space.  
Once Ryan had gone a full morning without coughing, Geoff's face lit up. "Now that Ryan is better, we can resume the heist."  
"Heist?" Jack repeated, glancing around a little surprised. "Like a bank heist?" His mind drifted back to the day they had been using a conference room in a bank.  
"Don't worry about it," Ray said with a smile. "It's better if you don't know anything. We'll be careful."  
"Somehow I doubt that," Jack tried to relax a little. They were professionals, this was what they did to make money, and judging by the amount of cars parked in their garage, they were good at it.  
"We should buy Jack a car afterwards," Gavin pointed out.  
"My car is fine," He insisted, getting tired of them bringing it up.  
"Yeah, but if you have a better ride we can pretend you're a driver for us," Gavin pointed out. "That would be top. We could see you whenever then, go on long drives."  
"We'll do it with our legal money," Michael said. "Each of us pay a fifth with a cash gift, then nothing can be used against him."  
"Can't I be tried as an accessory?" Jack said. "I know you're planning something."  
"No," Ryan smirked a little. "You're our bond mate. You aren't legally responsible for us and no judge can force you to testify."  
"There aren't any exceptions?"  
"If we are actively planning on killing a member of the senate or minors or if we're planning a murder spree or terrorist act, you might," Ryan said, and Jack couldn't help but notice how Gavin looked away from him. "But this is a bank robbery. We're not going to kill anyone unless we have to. Even if we do kill someone, you're safe."  
"Alright..." He felt unsettled, but managed a soft smile. "I don't think I could ever report any of you, I'd just rather know when to keep my head down."  
"Always keep your head down," Michael said. "If something ever happens Gus and Burnie will be handling things. You would just need to do as they say."  
"Who are they?"  
"Friends," Geoff said, "Now we should talk about more important things. Like car colours for Jack."  
Jack had to leave an hour later for a half shift, nor was he surprised when Ray settled down in a booth seat, a large coffee set right in front of him beside his DS. The Puerto Rican was quiet, but he would catch Jack's eye occasionally, giving him sweet smiles.  
The cafe was quiet. Remy had been scheduled to work with him but had apparently suffered a family loss and it was unclear if he would return.  
Ray stopped him at one point, just a half hour before closing. The younger man brushed their hands together, the six having agreed to avoid public displays of affection until it was safe.  
"I've gotta go meet someone. You aright to drive back alone?"  
"Of course," Jack gave him a soft smile, nearly entangling their fingers before pulling away to set the tables.  
When he checked his pockets after work, he finally noticed that his car key had been exchanged for a new one. It was still a staggering thing to go to his parking spot and see that his old rustbucket had been replaced by a luxurious green car. Inside was just a folded piece of thick card paper, a lazy heart sprawled on it in red pen.  
He couldn't help but run his fingers over the new glossy hood before sitting inside. The thing had a satellite radio, Bluetooth, gps, and even its own phone built into the console, and there were little buttons everywhere, even under his fingers behind the steering wheel.  
A better man would get out, would have called them up and asked for something simpler, something practical. Something he wouldn't feel bad about parking outside. He would feel angry that they had ignored his requests to leave his old car alone. A half hour ago he would be pissed that they had taken his car, the car that had taken him so many places and had never really let him down.  
But this thing was sex on wheels, the engine purring as he turned the key.  
The passenger door opened, letting Geoff in. The man looked smug, his moustache making the look almost comically villainous. "I take it you approve."  
"Is this mine?" Jack asked, a little surprised.  
"It will be," Geoff said, preening a little under Jack's awestruck look. "This is technically your test drive."  
"This is insane," Jack murmured, sitting back to stare blankly at the wheel again. "Are you sure you guys want to spend so much on me?"  
"Fuck yes," Geoff grinned. "Trust me, I've blown money before and this isn't it. You deserve to have kickass things."  
Jack put the car into gear, pulling out onto the road. "Let's go for a joyride then."  
Geoff chuckled most of the drive, occasionally fiddling with his own phone or commenting on other drivers, but otherwise his focus seemed entirely on Jack. It was a bit embarrassing at first, trying to drive with the other man watching so intently, but it felt natural once they were on the freeway, going faster than they should.  
By the time they had return Jack was practically buzzing with excitement, a ridiculous grin on his face. As he parked in the garage, Geoff leaned over to kiss him gently. "I'm glad you like it."  
"I love it," He admitted softly, before pulling Geoff in for more kisses.  
The crime lord ended the kiss, leaning back into his chair and giving Jack an impossibly soft smile. "Go upstairs and hang out with the others. I'll bring this back and get your old car until we finish the paperwork."  
Jack nodded, and they both slid out of the car, exchanging another quick kiss before the barista headed for the stairs.  
Gavin was the only one home, the Brit hunched around a laptop at the kitchen table. He seemed so relaxed, dressed in fleece sweatpants and one of Jack's sweaters, and Jack couldn't help but go over to kiss his forehead. "Hey."  
"Hey..." Gavin murmured back, arching up to steal a kiss before going back to staring at his screen. "Sorry, I'm a bit knackered. Oh did you enjoy your drive?"  
"Yeah," He slid, sitting beside him. "I don't want to imagine how much that car costs but I love it."  
"Good," Gavin leaned over against him a little. "I want to go drive with you once you have it for real. I wanna see how fast you can go."  
Jack just smiled, wrapping an arm around the Brit and glancing out the window rather than try and make sense of what Gavin was doing. It was dark out, but they had an amazing view from up there, the full city lit up below them.  
Gavin was soon tangling their feet together and even though Jack's socks he could feel the chill of the Brit’s feet. "Christ your feet are cold."  
"I'm cold," Gavin murmured.  
Jack glanced at the blonde, seeing how pale he seemed lit up by the screen. Before he knew it he was standing, headed at first for the coffee machine, then reconsidering. A quick search through the cupboards found a box of tea bags and a kettle, and within a few minutes he was passing Gavin a mug. "Here."  
Gavin sipped it, then laughed softly. "You made me tea since I'm British didn't you?"  
"Something like that," Jack chuckled, nursing his own cup.  
Gavin still drank it happily, slowly unwinding a little as the heat sank into his bones.  
"Jack," Gavin asked after a while. "Do you get confused sometimes listening to Ryan?"  
"Why would I?" Jack rose an eyebrow, unsure if Gavin was going to bring up Ryan's darker tendencies."  
"Well, he sounds just like you. So don't you sometimes have to wonder if it's you actually talking."  
"What?"  
The conversation continued on in an inane way, but Jack just played along to see where Gavin was going with it all. It only got better when Gavin admitted to already talking to Ryan about it.  
Ray returned home next, soaking wet to the bone. It wasn't raining out, so Jack rose an eyebrow as he followed him to the bedroom. "Why are you so wet?"  
"I was thinking about Channing Tatum," Ray joked, gathering up a change of clothes. "Either that or Michael pushed me into a pool."  
"He pushed you into a pool?" Jack tried to sound disapproving but a grin still ended up on his face. "Did you pull him in with you?"  
"Nah, I couldn't get him to lose his balance," Ray started to strip, and Jack eyed the door, unsure if he should leave.  
Taking his eyes off the smaller man had been his mistake, Ray taking the opportunity to pounce, lips on his. Jack automatically wrapped himself the smaller man, feeling warm skin and firm muscle as his hands skimmed Ray’s back. A foot darted out, catching Jack’s ankle and making him tip back for a second before Ray’s grip on him let him regain his balance.  
“You haven’t hand time to learn all of our tricks,” Ray perked right up, looking a little giddy at the realization.  
“Well, the obvious cure for that is to practice grappling,” Jack laughed, going in for another kiss.  
Ray just made a soft noise before dragging Jack towards the bed.  
Things were not as desperate or as wild as they had been with Michael. They took their time, Ray’s clever hands slipping under Jack’s shirt and teasing skin even as Jack tried to distract him with deep kisses and his own hands running over cafe-a-lait skin. Jack shed his shirt, but things did not go much further than that, Ray finally pulling away with a soft kiss. “I should get a shower. I’m still freezing.”  
“Alright,” Jack smiled, reaching out to squeeze the man’s hand once before going to try and find his shirt. He resorted to grabbing a different one, coming back out to see the other four men sitting on the couch, watching some sitcom. Michael shifted down the couch a little, making room for Jack between him and Ryan, and Jack gladly took the spot, smiling a little when Ryan’s arm ended up along his shoulders.  
Michael and Geoff seemed the most into the show, Gavin still using his laptop from his perch on the other end of the couch, and Ryan seemingly zoning out. When Ray came back out, freshly showered, Michael asked loudly about the little lovebite on the sniper’s neck.  
“You’re just jealous that you didn’t get any marks,” Ray laughed, shifting his mostly unbuttoned shirt to show off the little bruise. Jack just chuckled when he realized what had happened to his shirt, the black button up dwarfing Ray but showing off so much skin. Beneath he was just in loose boxers covered in little red hearts.  
“Nah, I just got to touch his dick,” Michael grinned smugly.  
“Hey, hey, he’s our mate not a piece of meat. Give him some respect,” Ryan said, and Jack glanced at him only to feel Ryan’s hand slide down to squeeze his ass.  
Jack jumped, but couldn’t help but laugh with the others, especially as Ray joined them on the couch and slid his legs over everyone’s laps.  
Gavin was the first to give into the lull of sleep, falling asleep against Geoff right in the middle of their movie. Michael rose to bring Gavin to bed, but didn’t return, meaning he had either gone to bed as well, or Gavin had awoken enough to take advantage of their privacy. Jack wondered what that would be like in a few months, once everyone was used to him and he was used to everything. It was weird imagining getting to a point where he could stand up right then and just go join them, but as a stray groan drifted into the room, Geoff stood with a little grin, disappearing into the bedroom to join them.  
Ray shifted until he was practically in Ryan’s lap, calves pressed over Jack’s lap as they watched the rest of the movie.  
Ray yawned once the credits had begun, leaning over to kiss Jack and then Ryan. “I think they’re done so I’m going to go get some sleep. Tomorrow is the big day afterall.”  
“It is?” Jack asked, a little too amused by the sleepy eyed look Ray was giving him to be upset at the reminder of their heist. “Goodnight.”  
Ryan squeezed Ray’s knee before the youngest man slipped away, a little clumsy from already being half asleep.  
Jack glanced at Ryan, a little surprised to be catch big blue eyes looking back at him. The man looked so soft in that moment, face washed and shaved and his hair loose. “You should sleep too.”  
“You aren’t going to bed?” Jack could already see dark circles under Ryan’s eyes.  
The murderer shook his head, grabbing the remote to flick through the channels. “I don’t sleep.”  
Jack wanted to ask for more. He wanted to ask if it were nightmares keeping him awake, if it was stress, or if he just could not give into sleep.  
Instead he just leaned a little more against the other man’s side and got comfortable. “Then I’ll stay up a little longer. I’m not working until late anyways.”

“In that case…” Ryan’s face went a little more wicked, eyes skimming over Jack’s frame before he switched the tv input. Jack rose an eyebrow, a little curious until Ryan settled on some sort of slow jam playlist.  
The next moment had Jack on his back on the couch, Ryan bent down over him. The other man settled between his knees and Jack was suddenly reminded of the scene he had walked in on just a few days before, of Gavin being pinned beneath Ryan, getting fucked senseless where Jack was currently sprawled.  
Ryan went in for kisses before Jack could react, the man’s tongue claiming Jack’s. Ryan was like Michael, a battering ram to the senses as his body pressed completely against Jack. They were both already straining against their pants and Jack thrusted up against Ryan’s hips, startling a groan.  
“No,” Ryan chuckled, ending the kiss to stare down into Jack’s eyes. “I don’t want this to be just a dry hump.”  
“I’m…” Jack hesitated, unsure if he had the patience at that moment to deal with finding lube and prepping.  
“No. Not that either,” He kissed Jack again. “I don’t think you’re ready for that yet… I just want to taste you.”  
Jack’s groan at just the thought was embarrassingly pornographic. Ryan chuckled, leaning down to silence him with a soft kiss before guiding Jack’s hand up to his mouth. “We have to be quiet if we want to let the others sleep.”  
Jack nodded, keeping his mouth covered. Ryan smirked, hands going down to free Jack from his pants and briefs. The leather couch was cool but butter soft beneath Jack’s bare skin, and Ryan leaned down, loose hair teasing the insides of Jack’s thighs.  
Ryan’s mouth was heaven. Jack could barely keep still, hips twitching beneath Ryan’s firm grip. He was going mad from it, his other hand burying in Ryan’s hair as his he tried to last.  
What drove him over though was the site of Geoff standing just outside the kitchen, watching them both in obvious interest. As their eyes met, Geoff made his way over to them. He knelt by the couch, pulling Jack in for a kiss that was just as lewd as what Ryan was doing.  
Ryan kept going for a few moments afterwards, milking Jack of all he was worth before pulling away and letting him recover.  
“Damn…” Geoff murmured softly. “You two…”  
“Shh…” Ryan said smugly, I think we broke him.”  
Jack wasn’t broken, he was just too far gone to care, feeling boneless and far too satisfied.  
The other two had to help him get to his feet, Geoff’s touches lingering a little. He didn’t remember slipping in between warm, naked bodies, just the soft cool touch of his pillow to his cheek before falling asleep.  
It would be his last night in their bed. It would be the last night he would fall asleep feeling safe, warm and content. If he had known that, he would have fought sleep. He would have tried to memorize the sleeping faces of his soulmates.  
Instead, he simply let himself drift off to sleep.  
In the morning, he helped make breakfast, flushing whenever Geoff or Ryan gave him a smug grin. The younger three seemed to know something was up, Gavin asking in an offended tone if he would be ‘the last to get to touch Jack’s jack.’ The brit sounded especially groggy that morning, but judging by the marks up and down his neck, it could have had something to do with whatever Geoff and Michael had done to him the night before.  
“Nah, when he’s ready we’ll do it together,” Ray pitched in. “We’ll ‘Xray and Vav’ him.”  
Jack flushed, remembering what it was like to be ‘Ryan and Geoff’-ed.

He was sent to work with a full stomach and a few brief kisses, Jack choosing to drive his old car so that he wouldn’t feel bad leaving it unprotected in his sketchy parking lot.  
After work, he made his way up to his apartment, intending to grab some more clothes since the others all seemed intent on stealing his. He did not dawdle, didn’t even bother to even pack things properly.  
But it was all a matter of timing.  
His first warning was the sounds of gunshots.  
He froze at the sound, glancing at his clock. It was early in the day, too early for anything gang related. They had sounded like they had been coming from below him, like they had come from the cafe.  
For a moment, he debated being brave. He debated going down to see if someone was hurt, to see if he could somehow stop whoever was shooting.  
And then his door burst open, letting in a masked figure with a huge gun.  
Jack froze up, unarmed and unprotected as he stood in full view of the intruder. In that moment, he knew he was at their mercy.


	9. Hit me with your best pot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know in GTA Los Santos is on an island, but this is Achievement City and things are tweaked. I haven't been faithful to the insides of the condos ingame either since A) I don't own it and B) even if I owned it, I wouldn't own the apartments they'd own.
> 
> Much love to the lovely loving Kayasaurus for beta-ing.
> 
> I just finished writing the first draft of the last chapter and I'm full of emotions but I wouldn't know what to name them and they're just there. Please send cats and starbucks/Timmie ho's and address to the forming swamp of strange feels on the eastern coastline of Canada.
> 
> A new story might be starting soon since I obviously have too much free time. This story will still have only a few chapters a week, since the chapters still need editing and we like to give you feels. I'll reveal how many chapters there will be sooner or later.

Jack just stood there a little too long, frozen in the face of danger. It was quiet, the only sounds filling Jack's ears were the pounding of his heart and the sounds of the other man's harsh breathing.  
"Jack..." The other man finally murmured, the sound nearly a whimper.  
The barista nearly stumbled in his rush to reach the other, gun forgotten as he pulled him into the apartment and shut the door. He pulled the mask off, letting him see the flush of Gavin's face. His shoulder was sticky with blood and he smelt of smoke and gunpowder.  
"Gavin?"  
"M okay, it was just a graze." He said, leaning into Jack and letting his eyes drift shut. His breath was a little too laboured and when Jack checked, the Brit was practically burning with fever. Gavin nuzzled his hand at the touch, eyelids fluttering. "You feel so nice."  
"You're sick," Jack realized belatedly. "You're fresh from a gunfight, injured, and you're sick."  
"Sorry..." Gavin said, pressing his face to Jack's beard. "I don't remember how I got here."  
"You idiot," Jack said, half dragging the smaller man to the couch. "You should be in bed. Not out running around robbing banks." He could hear someone in the hallway, and he dropped his voice, checking Gavin's forehead again to confirm the other was dangerously hot.  
"I don't let myself get sick," Gavin said, sniffling a little. "It's all in the mind..."  
"That's not how it works," Jack hissed. "Where are the others?" A cop siren wailed outside. "Gavin, where are the others?"  
"T're fine." He murmured. "I couldn't reach the helicopter... They all did." He reached out to grab Jack's hand. "They're gunna be so angry."  
"Did the cops follow you here?" Jack asked, before realizing even if they had, Gavin was in no state to keep track of those things. He grimaced, then made a decision.  
He grabbed a large old blanket, wrapping the Brit up warmly before he lifted him up, struggling a little with Gavin's weight. He wasn't large in any way, but he was tall and Jack was not as fit as he would have preferred. He grabbed the gun and mask as an afterthought, hiding them in the blanket.  
There were cops everywhere outside, but no one seemed to notice the man carrying his feverish boyfriend out of the chaos. Jack was shaking from stress and strain as he reached his old beat up car. Gavin groaned a little as he was buckled in, and Jack went to the other side to climb in, pausing just to catch his breath.  
There were cops everywhere, and Jack could see Gavin's shoulder bleeding again, agitated from the rough handling Jack had resorted to just to get them out. Jack belatedly looked for his cell phone, needing to call the others, but he had left it behind again.  
He reached over, feeling Gavin's front pockets in hopes of finding a phone. He found one soon enough, but it asked for a password and wasn't anything Jack could recognize. There was an emergency call option, but Jack hadn't memorized any of their numbers yet.  
He grimaced, taking a deep breath before starting the car.  
He had no idea how they managed to reach the street, no idea of how the cops hadn't spotted the blood or why they hadn't at least been questioned to see if they had seen anything.  
The streets were packed, just increasing Jack's stress as they had to slowly make their way to the penthouse. He didn't dare trying to break the law, knowing that if he was pulled over at that moment, nothing could keep them from prison.  
They were at a red light when his car finally died  
He felt his heart stop at the first strange whine from the engine. Then it was just moments before it just went silent, car going still.  
"Jesus fucking Christ," Jack said, slamming his hands on the steering wheel.  
"Jack..." Gavin groaned. "Why are we stopped?"  
Jack just pressed his face to the wheel for a moment, before sliding out of the car. The light had changed, leaving a row of angry drivers behind him as he gave them all a shaky wave before starting to push the car towards the curb. It was hard work, especially with Gavin half passed out in the front, but he couldn't leave his car in the road blocking traffic, especially if he was avoiding the cops.  
He was exhausted by the time he had it pushed to the side, exhausted and scared. His hands shook as he tried to wipe the sweat off his face. He headed back to his seat, intending to try to figure out Gavin's phone again. It could have some sort of voice command option, or if you failed to get the password it might show a number to call if you had found the phone and wanted to find its owner.  
Instead, the phone was gone, along with the blanket, Gavin and the mask, only the gun being left behind. Jack cursed, glancing outside for Gavin.  
He could see the corner of his blanket sticking out of the nearest alleyway, seemingly dropped and forgotten.  
Jack grabbed the gun, shoving it into his coat pocket and hoping it wasn't obvious and that it wasn't armed as he made his way back out of the car.  
The alley was dark and cramped, the kind of alleyway that had been created without the thought for dumpsters. There were a few metal trash bins, and a recycling bin, Jack's bloodied blanket, and Gavin laying sprawled out on the pavement.  
What worried Jack though was the man standing over Gavin. He was a stranger, dressed in a soft grey Henley and a scarf. He looked like the kind of guy who would be at a gym or lounging on a beach but Jack knew that appearances meant nothing in what was suddenly his world.  
The stranger raised his gun, aiming it at Gavin and Jack had no time to think.  
The first shot missed. It made the other man flinch though, turning to face Jack, the second shot catching the guy right in the back.  
Gavin's gun had been surprisingly quiet, the sound drowned out by the roar of traffic and the rush of blood in Jack's ears.The stranger fell like someone had cut his strings, nearly landing on Gavin. Jack found himself rushing over to them both, bile rising in his throat.  
He checked Gavin first, finding a fresh wound on the back of his head from where the other man had obviously hit him down.  
The Brit was breathing evenly, but he was completely unconscious and Jack wondered if he should move him. He wondered if he could risk calling 911, he wondered if Gavin was dying.  
Gavin's phone gave a little chirp from a few feet away but Jack couldn't get himself to pay attention to the sound, too consumed with worry over Gavin and an all consuming guilt as his eyes met the stranger on the pavement beside them.  
He had kind eyes, despite everything, and they were edged with tears as he laid there gasping for breath. Jack felt his chest constrict, and he gripped Gavin, so many emotions swelling up.  
He had not been prepared for the guilt. He knew he had been forced to shoot the man; he knew that the stranger had hurt Gavin and had been preparing to kill the brit. If Jack had not been there, Gavin would be dead by then. But Jack could see the pain in the stranger’s eyes, the anger and frustration as he slowly bled out.  
The man did not seem able to move, Jack’s bullet having struck him in the spine, and Jack was struck with the horror of what he had to be going through.  
Jack had done this to him.  
If he had been stronger, he would have rose up and found Gavin’s gun. It had to be nearby, it had to have bullets left in it. He could just reach over with his bare hands and try to crush the other man’s neck, try and smother him so that the death was quicker.  
Instead, he just wanted to hum an old lullabye under his breath. He just wanted to reach out and hold the other man as if he could offer comfort. He couldn’t do anything though except for sit there in horror, his whole world narrowing down to just those two eyes.  
“Gavin!” He heard Michael call out.  
It was Ryan who found them first.  
The masked man didn’t hesitate, shooting the stranger in the back of the head. It was just as terrible as it was in the movies, soft red flesh bursting out over Jack and Gavin. The stranger’s eyes were still locked on Jack though, staring at him in quiet judgement.”  
“Jack!” Ryan stepped over the body, barely seeming to notice it as he leaned down to check his soulmates. “Are you injured?”  
“No,” Jack whispered, forcing himself to look up at his mate. Ryan’s blue eyes were crinkled with worry under the mask, but all Jack could see was the big black skull. All Jack could see was death. For the first time since they had exchanged their soulmark words, Jack was afraid.  
How could Ryan do that? How could Ryan just kill someone like that without hesitation.  
Michael was there suddenly, helping Ryan lift Gavin. They checked his wounds, speaking in hushed tones that sounded like nonsense to Jack.  
“Jack….” Michael was suddenly in front of him, face creased in worry. He was blocking Jack’s view of the body, and it seemed intentional. “Come on Jack. It’s alright. We need to get home now.” He offered him a hand, as if Jack could stand up with just a little assistance. Jack could barely lift his hand up, letting Michael grab it with a tight grip and tug him up.  
Jack stumbled, but there were more hands to steady him, Geoff having arrived. The man’s mustache was limp, his eyes a little dead to the world.  
Ray was waiting in the SUV, looking a little stunned at Jack. “Jack? How did you find Gavin?”  
Jack would scream if he tried to speak. All he could manage was to shake his head, a big hand landed on his shoulders and he flinched away, twisting to see Ryan looking at him with surprised eyes.  
For a moment all Jack could see were blank hazel eyes and blood.  
Closing his eyes, he turned away.

Ray came into the bathroom with him when they reached the penthouse. They were all being careful around Jack, but as soon as the door closed he could hear raised voices in the other room.  
Jack let steady hands strip the bloodied clothes off him. He barely noticed Ray stripping down as well, or the worried look in those big brown eyes as the man guided him into the shower. Ray’s skin looked darker when pressed against Jack’s. His body was so much smaller and slimmer and yet it was just Jack nearly collapsing under the spray of water.  
Jack couldn’t feel anything after a moment, numbed to even the heat of the shower as he stared blankly at the wall.  
No one was talking when Ray guided him back out to the couch, but he could see Gavin half awake and cocooned in blankets in the corner of the couch.  
Jack could still feel the blood on his skin. He couldn’t meet Gavin’s eyes, he could barely sit there, that lullabye echoing in his mind.

“Jack…” Geoff said, what could have been hours or minutes later. He held a sandwich and some fries on a plate. “Here… Try eating something.”  
Jack couldn’t bring himself to take more than one bite, the food tasting like ashes and iron.  
Ray tried to bring him into a conversation about something, Jack not even able to pay enough attention to learn what it was about. The one time Ryan spoke, Jack had flinched so hard his plate of uneaten food had spilled over the couch.  
“Give him space for christsakes,” Michael said from his spot near Gavin, “It's obvious he's freaked out.”  
“Ryan’s his soulmate,” Geoff growled. “He’d never hurt him.”  
“Wouldn’t he?” Jack asked, voice hoarse as he finally made himself meet blue eyes. He could still see the black skull around them, see the grooves along the bone even when Ryan’s face was bare. “You would never harm me? Never kill me?”  
He had hoped for Ryan to deny it. He had hoped the man would pull him out of everything, for the power of their soulbond to make everything better.  
Instead, Ryan just slumped a little, pointedly not meeting anyone’s eyes. “I couldn’t go through with it.”  
“You tried?” Michael’s voice was shrill. “You son of a bitch-”  
“This was going to happen,” Ryan pointed out. “It was obvious from the start this was going to happen. Jack is not strong enough to survive this.”  
“So you were going to kill him first?” Geoff sounded wrecked.  
“You saw what happens when someone like us gets bonded to someone like Jack. You know he’d be better off dead.”  
“No,” Jack said, closing his eyes and still seeing those big hurt hazel eyes. “No. I was better off alone.”  
“Jack,” Ray reached for him but Jack pulled away. He knew the other could easily catch hold of him, that he could easily overpower him, but Ray let him keep his space. “You don’t mean that. Ryan doesn’t mean that.”  
“I was going to do it before Ray could meet him,” Ryan continued on, every word sinking into Jack like knives. “I knew from the start he was ours, but I didn’t want to give him the chance.”  
Jack finally opened his eyes, the only words coming out of his mouth were. “I need to go home.”  
The ride to his apartment was tense, even with Ryan staying behind to watch Gavin.  
“Call us in the morning,” Ray murmured as they pulled up to Jack’s building. “Please?”  
“Don’t,” Michael said, hands tight on the steering wheel. “If you can’t handle a little death then you can’t stay with us. You won’t survive us.”  
Geoff shook his head, pale faced. “He doesn’t mean that Jack, you’re our soulmate.”  
Geoff reached out, catching Jack’s arm, fingers curling over the marks.  
“That doesn’t mean anything really though does it?” Jack murmured. “You guys don’t even really know me.”  
“Yes we do,” Geoff insisted. “We were all happy together hours ago.”  
“You don’t know me,” Jack said. “And I don’t know you.” A shaky laugh slipped past his lips. “I don’t even like coffee. I hate it. I hate the smell, the taste… I shouldn’t have gone back to being a barista. I was better off never meeting you. It should have all been an omen to warn me off.”  
He easily pulled free, not looking back.

It took him a day to get out of him mind enough to leave his apartment.  
He had destroyed his phone in the meantime, destroyed it before he could give in and call them back. He didn’t go to work, didn’t even clean the bloodstains off his floor from where Gavin’s shoulder had dripped down.  
He couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t even close his eyes without seeing hazel. He couldn’t stand the dark corners of his room. He felt numbed, felt shattered, felt alone.  
So he ran.  
He packed only what he cared about. He couldn’t pack what he was proud of, couldn’t pack his shitty couch or his tiny tv, and his favourite shirts were still at the penthouse.  
But he packed what he could. He didn’t have time to sell the rest, but he didn’t care.  
In the parking lot, the green car was parked, still shining and new and everything he had never hoped to even dream of.  
He sold it in the next town over. Sold it for an insane amount of money that made him almost angry. The car had been worth more than he had expected. The car had been worth more than some houses. He bought a used Radius,  
And they had bought it for him without blinking. They had bought it for him when one of them had been planning on killing him before he could be an inconvenience. He only let himself remember that night on the couch with Ryan once, and that had broke him a little more again.  
Had Ryan been thinking about it then? Was Ryan still capable of killing Jack even while they had been just cuddling on the couch?  
His work clothes burned well in a bonfire. He could swear he could still smell the coffee in the air as they burned, but it was cathartic. Jack the barista was now gone. Jack the barista was now dead.  
He didn’t know what the new Jack would be.  
And miles away, the five leaders of the Fake AH Crew were coming home from the funeral of Jack the crewmate. Miles away, the other five parts of Jack’s heart were breaking apart.  
But none of them were weak enough to let it break them.  
With time, each would adjust. They would all find a way to return to their old balance, each hoping to reunite someday. And in the meantime, they had time to get revenge. They had time to try and make it so things would go better next time, so that they could keep the one they loved.  
And elsewhere, Joel was peering over the case file for the death of B. Gibson. There hadn’t been much evidence collected before the police had been convinced to drop the case by one of Gus’s men.  
But they had gathered enough for Joel. They had gathered blood samples from the scene belonging to a certain British-American. They had gathered a thumbprint from the murder weapon.  
And they had gathered the footage from a local security camera, showing a stumbling Gavin make his way to the alleyway, followed by a mountain of a stranger.  
The madman grinned, sitting back in the passenger seat as Adam drove them home. Someone nearby was having a bonfire, the scent of coffee in the air.  
With a predator’s grin he planned.


	10. The Daily Grind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly: much love to Kayasaurus my lovely beta.
> 
> Secondly: Go check out my new story about superheros and Jack. You'll all love the pairing.
> 
> Thirdly: http://goo.gl/xfVN2c Vote for what the next pairing will be and http://goo.gl/h6qw02 to give me a setting. If no one votes I'll just keep making shitty oneshots and no one will be happy. I need a new project to do.

“Jon Snow, you want to go down to my grotto, Jon Snow?”  
There was the sound of slurping and groaning, followed by laughter as they all took delight in Adam's expression. By then, making the man do his terrible impressions of the wildling woman was like beating a dead horse, but it annoyed the man too much to have to do it yet again and it was hard to resist.  
Jack chuckled from his desk nearest to the door, half listening to the others as he watched mythbusters. Adam, Bruce and James were surrounding a computer, not even hiding the fact that they were playing video games.  
Inside Demos was the job of Jack’s dreams.  
Their work was just a funhouse of slacking off and unlimited internet. The boss did not seem concerned about budgeting, management or even goals. Instead, the original group were just given their office, computers, and vague instructions to try and answer the phones and the occasional job.  
Somehow they had convinced the boss to let them hire an assistant to work the phones.  
So now Jack was being paid over $17 an hour to sit at a desk, play video games, and answer the phone when it rang once or twice a week. Most of their calls were from along the coastline, businesses wanting evaluations of their internal processes or sensitive products.  
Joel Rubin had sat him down once, the man being the closest thing to a boss Jack had. He had started off serious, trying to explain how their business worked, but after a few moments of jargon, most of the others started to just call out business buzzwords like ‘synergistic’, ‘diversity’, ‘networking’ and ‘proactive’. Jack honestly did not care, no one expecting more of him than to be able to put callers on hold until someone could pause their game.  
He had already been working with them for a year, having spent nine months before that working as a delivery man.  
The guys were awesome as well, just the right mix of laid back and friendly. They teased each other, teased Jack, and even had thrown him a paintball party for his 29th birthday when they had realized he hadn’t made plans. He had somehow been the second best, only Spoole managing more shots. They occasionally went out as a group, sometimes even just hung out at the office drinking, but they still stayed at a comfortable level of detachment where they never asked about Jack’s past or about Jack’s soulmate.  
Jack hadn’t seen his soulmates in 22 months.  
He had tried googling them once or twice. Funnily enough, the easiest thing to find was their gaming accounts. Jack had friended Ray once, unfriending him a few days later without messaging him even once.  
It was hard sometimes, being alone again, but he knew he could never talk to anyone about it. He could never tell a therapist the full story, never confess that he knew five of the top criminals in the state. The last thing he wanted was to end up being the reason they get killed or arrested.  
The hardest thing was seeing the words on his arm.  
It had taken him months to get used to not living up to the person he’d thought he would have to become to get them. He had spent so long assuming that everything would go perfectly when he met his soul mates, he had never considered that they could have made each other so miserable.  
Jack now was happy.  
He was far from having a perfect life, was far from being able to even think about the crew without pain and he was scared shitless of their upcoming move but he was happy at the end of the day. He had friends, he had a life.  
He was so scared of the upcoming move.  
They had to move towns every so often. The first time it had happened, he had been afraid that it was some sort of traveling scam or tax evasion thing, but Joel showed him the books and Peake had tried to walk him through it. As far as he could see, everything was legit. It was just easier if they could travel to wherever the work was.  
The work was currently in Achievement City.  
He had balked at the thought, but then again, it was almost perfect. The office was on the edge of town, and his new apartment was even further out of the way. He could live there for years and never see the others. Or one night when he was drunk or just very very brave he could try and find them. He could be in their apartment before he could remember why it was a bad idea to go back.  
He wanted to go back. He wanted to be with them all again.  
“Are you all packed up?” Spoole asked him. “Ready to move to one of the most dangerous cities in the US?”  
“You lived there before, right?” Joel piped in. Spoole had not been near quiet enough, the others all turning to join the conversation. Jack could see Adam’s character driving off into the water in their game.  
“Fuck, really?” Bruce didn’t seem convinced, eyeing Jack. “What did you do there?”  
Jack just shrugged, turning back to his computer.  
They took the hint and dropped the conversation for a few minutes, Adam going back to trying to play the terrible racing game while Lawrence and Spoole seemed to be having a strange food fight with popcorn. Peake just slumped over the computer a little, actually seemingly doing work, and Joel just sat back in the middle of it all, watching the chaos.  
“Are you packed though?” Spoole asked again a few minutes later. “We might go drinking. You should come.”  
“No. I still have a few things to sort out first,” Jack smiled apologetically. “I’ll go out with you once we get there though.”  
“That's not as fun,” James came over, grinning like a maniac. “This is our last night out. Now, more than ever, what we do won’t matter. We’ll never, ever run into anyone we meet tonight ever again.”  
“Actually you just jinxed it,” Lawrence pointed out. “We’re now going to only run into future-in-laws, your parole officer, MJ, and crazy stalkers.”  
“Maybe all three at once,” Bruce added helpfully. “We’ve all seen how you look at the boss Spoole.”  
Jack hadn’t met the owner of Inside Gaming, Michael James. The man seemed to be almost avoiding him. He didn’t mind it, since it just made it even easier to slack off. Their boss was an abstract thought, not a real tangible threat.  
“Either way, it sucks you aren’t coming.”  
Jack almost wanted to, but he still hadn’t tackled packing up his kitchen and getting his car ready.  
They were making a road trip out of the move, their current town Deandee being just a seven hour drive from the city. Jack was driving his Vapid Radius, Bruce was driving his Buffalo, and the others were all going to take turns driving the moving van and hanging out in the different cars. They were used to moving by now, none of the others having much in the way of furniture. They all rented the big things, but Jack had become oddly attached to his own things. He had worked hard to be able to afford nice things and his current television would only look a tad pathetic compared to what the Fake AH crew had.  
Their afternoon was spent packing up the office, most of it fitting into two boxes labeled “Games” and “Stupid shit”. Their hard drives were carefully wrapped and put into bags, though most of their computer stuff would be shipped up later.  
“Come out with us,” The guys tried again, Bruce and Adam already trying to finish off a bottle of whiskey.  
“Sorry,” He shook his head again. “I will be up all night as it is. I don’t have time.”  
They parted, all headed out to the bars while Jack made his way home. He did have hours of work ahead of him.

Jack had his cupboards scrubbed clean and had been surfing the web on his phone in the bath when it had rang. He had startled, nearly dropping the phone into the water, before recovering and answering it.  
"Hello?" He paused to glance at the time on the display. It was nearly midnight.  
"Jack!" You could hear James' drunken grin in his voice. "Jack are you awake?"  
"Unfortunately," The man sighed, already mentally preparing himself to drain the still hot water from the bath. "Where are you?"  
"Funny story," James said, "Me and Joel got into this bet..."  
"Where are you?" Jack rose from the bath, headache forming at the sound of the water draining.  
The tall blonde looked awkward in front of the gay bar, Joel with him and looking a little too delighted whenever passing men would hit on them. Jack was certain they were both straight, but they both had a certain flair for dramatics that made them appreciate it all anyways.  
James had a bit of glitter on his cheek.  
"I didn't know you two were coming out," Jack dead panned, "I would have shown you a better place to start."  
"Nonsense, everyone there was so nice," Joel said, sitting in the passenger seat and lounging like a king. "We got free drinks."  
"Of course you did," Jack pulled back out onto the road. "Will you be hungover on the road?"  
"Nah," James shook his head. "We'll sleep it off."  
"Jack, does it hurt?" Joel asked.  
"What?"  
"Being so responsible all the time," The curly haired man said. "Live a little. A little danger-"  
None of them had been expecting the sound of gunfire to their right, a big black SUV appearing on their right.  
Jack reacted on instinct, making a sharp turn off the road and over the empty sidewalk into an alleyway.  
He distantly registered the sounds of Joel and James freaking out. All he could focus on was the sound of the guns behind them, the rev of his engine, and the sounds of traffic around them. His alley stunt had gained them some time, so he tried to remember if there were any busy streets nearby, anywhere they could get either help or traffic to disappear into. His big blue Radius was not good camouflage.  
He reached the freeway, pushing his engine to the limit and beyond grateful that his tank was full. James had a death grip on his shoulder, and Jack tried to shrug it off, needing the freedom to move.  
The freeway was nearly empty, but at least that made it easier to navigate as he went well beyond the speed limit. As the black suv appeared again behind him, he sighed and glanced at Joel.  
"Hold on to something."  
"What?" The southern man asked, but grabbed the bar on the roof just as Jack managed to use an emergency vehicle turnoff, managing to get to the other side of the freeway. It was busier on that side, especially since Jack was driving the wrong way.  
"You're a fucking lunatic!" James cried out from the back seat.  
"You're the one who just told me to live a little," Jack actually managed a laugh as he pulled a quick u-turn onto an exit ramp.  
The car fell silent as Jack pulled into a wooden road, parking far enough down the road to be hidden from anyone on the main streets.  
"So," James said, "Lawrence is going to piss himself when he realizes you're actually Paul Walker."  
“Were those men after you?” Joel asked, looking like he had figured a little too much out. “Are there seriously people with guns after you?”  
“It’s a long story,” Jack said, rubbing at his face for a moment. “And I can’t talk to you about any of it.”  
“Witness protection?” James asked. “Or are you a spy?”  
“I’m nothing,” Jack said. “I’m just a secretary.”  
“Really?” Joel frowned, “That's what you’re claiming. You need to work on lying man. Your resume says you’ve been a barista most of your life and you don’t even like coffee.”  
“Do we really need to talk about this right now? When we’re hiding? In a car? Chased by another car with guns!?” The bearded man hissed. “But yes, I was. I spent years pouring out shitty coffee for minimum wage.”  
“Why the hell would you be a barista?” Joel said. “I bet you don’t even know what a-”  
“My soulmark is someone ordering a coffee,” Jack snapped, pulling up his sleeve just enough to show Geoff’s mark. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m trying to keep us alive.”  
The truth was he was not rattled, he was not worried. What he did feel was a rush of adrenaline and excitement, filling his every bone until his fingers tingled with it. He wanted to pull out again and try weaving through more traffic, try to reach 150 miles per hour with the sounds of Geoff’s laughter in his ears.  
It was nearly 2 when Jack finally let himself drive again, careful to stick to the speed limit.  
They seemed to have shaken off the crazy gunners, and Jack somehow managed to get the guys to their homes before he returned to his nearly empty apartment. He tried to go to bed, lying on an inflatable mattress and trying not to remember how easy it had been to drive in Achievement City. Tried not to remember that green car.  
He was half asleep when he typed in a familiar search, Ryan’s gaming account popping up.  
He finally did it. He finally used his fake profile to just send one message.  
_Would you have really killed me?_  
He didn’t do it properly. He didn’t sign it, didn’t admit to Ryan who it was. There was something about them all that made him always stumble over himself, always lose confidence.  
_I would never have been able to do it._ Ryan typed back instantly. Jack nearly dropped the phone in surprise barely able to comprehend that he was really speaking to him again, albeit indirectly.  
_Come back._ Jack was not sure if that was Ryan typing, or someone else. Would Ryan share the messages with everyone or would he keep quiet unless Jack decided to try and meet them. Were the others already there, fighting over what to say to Jack as they sat curled up together on the couch.

 _I can’t._ Jack typed after a pause. _Not yet._  
He had typed up a little line about the gunners. He had typed up a paragraph about the events of the night. He had typed up a full story of everything he had done since the car dealership, about Funhaus, the mysterious Michael James, and the man he was now.  
He erased it all, then shut off his phone, closing his eyes and trying not to remember what it was like to sleep in a pile of limbs.  
The guys showed up at his apartment at 9 am, acting like nothing had happened. Jack wondered if the other two had been drunker than they had seemed, or if they just didn’t know how to say anything.  
Either way, they all loaded up the vehicles, sipping on hot drinks and eating fast food breakfast sandwiches.  
Adam was the one who climbed into Jack’s suv, looking so nonchalant about it that Jack knew that they all had to know. Still, even as they hit the road, Adam never brought it up, instead talking about wanting better air conditioning in the new office and Bruce's flatulence.  
They stopped for lunch, Jack taking a moment to look at his phone.  
There was just one message.  
_Be careful._  
He wondered if they somehow knew.  
Achievement City was just as vibrant as he remembered, even standing out in the boonies. They pulled into their new apartment building, Jack frowning a little as he saw two men standing just outside.  
"Oh shit," Adam murmured. "The boss."  
"The boss?" Jack asked.  
"Yeah. It's Michael."  
Jack met the waiting man's eyes, stomach twisting a little at the familiar expression. He pulled in and then had to force himself out of the car. He felt exposed in front of them.  
The oldest man was standing there in a leather jacket, looking a bit crazy but smug. His eyes were standing out due to the darkness around them, making the color pop. The surly man beside him was standing with his arms crossed, trying not to make eye contact with Jack.  
They were strangers.  
“Michael J. Caboose and Cardin Winchester,” Joel Rubin said, Adam Kovic coming up to stand at his side as they smirked at Joel Heyman and Adam Ellis. “Our bosses.”  
Jack managed a smile, not knowing the dangers he was in.


	11. Nothing to tea here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies
> 
> Look over in my other series. I've added the first chapter to what might be my next big story (beta needed) and I should already have a 2nd chapter up for townhouses. Townhouses will remain just a crack nonsensical thing, but I might add chapters to it depending if people put in requests.  
> The new story Consorting will probably be a Ot6 fic with an emphasis on MichaelxJack. I tried to make it fit as many votes as possible, but I won't be able to have Joel H. x Jack in it. I did just write a Jael superhero fic if you guys haven't seen it yet.
> 
> Also: sorry about any confusion in the upcoming chapters with the two Joels and the two Adams. I tried to use Joel H and Adam E's codenames as much as possible.

Michael J Caboose reached out to Jack, leading him into the office space below their apartments. Jack knew they had coordinated things this time to have all of them living in the same building. The others had always done it that way from the start, enjoying their own space but also the ability to visit each other without each owning a car. Before, they would carpool with Bruce or bike to work, but now that they had Jack he had a feeling they would take advantage of his car. Jack hadn’t known that they would also be living in the same building as their office, the building having a corner store next to office spaces on the ground floor, then a strip of motel-style apartments above it. They didn’t seem all that impressive from the outside, but rent was cheap and Jack doubted they would be there for more than 6 months.  
It was quiet in there, even with all of Inside Demos and the Cardin following them in. Caboose was an older, lean man, with a face built a bit intensely. He did not have the massive eyes James had, but his expressions still were too big for his thin face, and something about his grin was off putting.  
Still, Jack was working for this man and being paid too much for doing too little. Even as travel worn as he was, he managed a polite smile and looked around.  
The office was not as empty as Jack had expected. Once they made it past the empty entryway and past the 6 ft tall room dividers, the office was suddenly filled to the brim with office furniture. There was makeshift kitchenette in the middle, with a few carts loaded with a microwave, mini fridges and some snack foods, surrounded by two different workstations. The first was straightforward, featuring some desks, filing cabinets and the bare bones of computers.  
The other side was less straightforward. There was a map of North America, with various towns and cities crossed off. Post it notes were all around it, along with a few photos and actual documents.  
It looked like something cops would do in a TV show, showing the patterns of a criminal. Except for the marks around achievement city, forecasting that the attacks would start in a few days. Jack relaxed a little when he saw that it was just all lists of businesses, figuring it to be them keeping track of their rivals or something.  
Caboose sat down underneath the map and just let himself stretch out, feet up on a desk and chair tilting back a little to rest against the wall. “So first of all, Jack, I’d like to give you a belated welcome to our little group. The guys have been saying you’re a pretty chill guy.”  
“Thanks,” Jack said, hesitating before taking a seat in front of his boss. The others were carrying the two boxes and bag in from what little they had packed from the old office, and Jack could see them fighting over a desk. It was all suspicious to him, but it was impossible for him to think they could be involved in something big and dangerous when he could see them ready to wrestle over the spot closest to the AC.  
“You’ve lived here before, haven’t you?” Caboose smiled, accepting a beer from Cardin.  
Another beer was passed to Jack and he nodded at the other bearded man before glancing back at Caboose. “Yeah, briefly.”  
“Joel said you can drive faster than most stuntmen,” Caboose’s eyes were starting to turn harder. “What crew did you work for?”  
“Pardon me?” Jack asked, glad he had already swallowed his first sip of beer.  
“We’re not stupid,” He said. “You may be lacking any sort of survival skills, working for so long in a fake business without realizing it, but the rest of us need to outwit each other. And you’re either an insane natural at driving, or you’ve ran with a crew before.”  
“I haven’t,” Jack said. “Not really.” He had slept in the same bed as a crew, had been around when they were obviously planning a heist, had been driving around and breaking the rules in their overpriced cars, had smuggled Gavin past the cops, and had killed someone for them…  
But he didn’t want to think of himself as being involved in them. He still did not want to admit out loud what sins he had committed for their sake.  
“Well, you could now,” Caboose said. “We’re just a small crew, just myself, Cardin, and these cretins. You’d just be a getaway driver, just the wheels. The guys took you to paintball and said you were a terrible shot.”  
“I won,” Jack protested, a little offended even though he never wanted to be a good shot to begin with. He never wanted to hold a real gun again.  
“It's okay buddy,” James interrupted to pat Jack’s head. “We just didn’t want to kick your ass on your birthday.”  
“We could train you up if you wanted,” Lawrence offered. “It's easy once you get the hang of it.”  
“No,” Jack shook his head. “I can’t do it. I can’t get involved in that stuff again.”  
“Yes you can,” Caboose’s grin was shark like as he glanced at Cardin, before looking back at Jack. “Either way, you can keep your job here, even get a little raise now that you know our secret. You can stay here and play secretary and help us hide in plain sight. You ever want to triple your pay, you start driving around for us.”  
“I… I will just stay a ‘secretary’,” Jack tried not to remember that night in the alleyway, tried not to remember pain filled eyes.  
“That’s fine,” The older man stood, Cardin gravitating back to his side. “We’ll get going now and let you all get settled. Work starts in two days. It was nice to meet you Jack.”  
Cardin and Caboose seemed to have a silent conversation with their eyes, and Jack wondered if they were soulmates. They worked together closely, apparently not needing to discuss anything or even speak.  
A shiver trailed down Jack’s spine as he watched them go. he hoped that whoever they really were, they would have no beef with the Fake AH crew or with Jack. He was certain they were capable of many things.  
“Don’t let them scare you,” Joel advised as he passed by. “You’re one of us now, even if you want to wait to start driving. They want to keep you.”  
“Yeah,” Adam said, a little preoccupied with glaring at Bruce for winning the best spot. “If they wanted you dead, they probably would have done it already.”  
Jack’s arm tingled, and he took a deep drink of his beer. His hands were shaking a little as he set it down, nerves shot. “Yeah. I guess I’m going to go check out my place.”

His hands were still shaking when he settled in for the night. His apartment was clean, if a little run down, and he wasn’t sure if the fridge would last long. The bedroom was large however, and he was a little anxious to start filling things in. Still, around 3 am he forced himself to go to bed.  
Things just grew worse once he had shut off his light. The room was just too big, the window facing away from the street so that the only light was from the stars above.  
He pulled out his phone. He thought about messaging again. He thought about asking them about what to do. Asking them if they would want him to drive for them. Asking them if they would be fine if he couldn’t. Would they be fine if he was never able to participate in their heists? Would they hate him for working around another crew, even if he never actively helped them?  
Who are Caboose and Cardin? He typed, but never hit send. Instead he put his phone down, got up to get some water and sat on the couch.

He woke up around 12, slumped down on the couch with some sort of cartoon about a little boy and some colorful women paused on his laptop in front of him. He had been up past sunrise, mind working overtime as he tried to think his way through things.  
He wouldn’t act like things were exactly the same as before. The easy work, the lack of clients and the general carelessness of the others now made sense, since Inside Demos wasn’t real, but he could still make a living off of being a fake secretary.  
Peake knocked on his door when Jack was just out of the shower. The quiet man looked extra stubbly that day, his headphones around his neck as if he had just been on a computer. “Hey. so…. we’re running out for lunch. You should come.”  
“Alright. Just give me a second,” Jack said. “I just need to grab my wallet.”  
He grabbed his wallet and his keys, then his phone. Before he left he paused, glancing around his room.  
He had nothing to hide, except for the writing on his arm and the messages on his phone. And even then, they might not be able to tell they were significant.  
Those men the night before last may have been after James and Joel. That could have been why they did not push for an explanation from Jack.  
Were they all into dangerous stuff? Were they all killers? Was everyone he knew a killer?  
He smiled weakly as he reached the cars, seeing that they had already gotten rid of the moving truck. “Hey.”  
“Hey, come on,” Bruce grinned. “Just follow me, we’ll go to a local diner and then swing by the grocery store and get everyone stocked up.”  
“Sounds good,” Jack nodded, unsurprised when it was Joel, Spoole and Peake that climbed into his car. He didn’t see Lawrence anywhere, but the man could have wanted more time to un  
pack.  
It was easy to forget anything was wrong as they all sat in a booth in some mom and pop diner, ordering too much fries and burgers held together with grease and processed cheese. The onion rings were amazing, and James managed to freak out their poor waiter a few times with his unnerving expressions. They tipped well enough that Jack could just laugh through it all.  
Having the six of them all enter a supermarket at once was bad. They managed to branch out a little into separate groups, but they acted like children at some points. Jack, Peake and Joel tried to just get their stuff and leave, pretending not to know the others whenever they started anything.  
Something felt off when Jack returned to his home. After a pause, he figured it was just him adjusting to the new apartment, or just his paranoia about everything.  
Lawrence came up to visit him a few minutes later, holding up a copy of Fast and Furious. “Wanna watch it?”  
“Sure,” Jack nodded, completely missing the fact that the case was a boxed set.  
He somehow made it through most of them, though he had only gotten through Tokyo Drift by sheer amusement at the sight of Little Bow Wow. It was late by the time Fast Five started, and he glanced to Lawrence. “Maybe we should call it quits soon.”  
The man nodded. “Yeah, I guess.” He glanced at Jack. “Did you ever meet your soulmates?”  
“Yes,” He said, not taking his eyes off the screen. “Though I only have the one.”  
“Just the one?” Lawrence said. “Then why do you always keep your full arms covered?”  
“I don’t like wearing armbands,” Jack shrugged. “They itch.”  
“Really?” Lawrence said, but stood to shut off the movie. “Alright then.”

Work the next day was relaxed, half the guys not showing up, and the other half being more preoccupied with playing with their new computers than with actually working.  
Jack’s skin crawled for a few moments, convinced something was about to happen to break the illusion of normalcy. The police would arrive, guns blazing, James would come in, carrying a bag of money. Ryan and Geoff would show up, both wearing Ryan’s horrible skull mask, dead set on bringing Jack back to the penthouse.  
And Jack almost wanted to be there. He liked the guys at Inside Demos, but he didn’t feel safe now. He was waiting for the other shoe to fall.  
The other shoe falls that night.  
He had been sitting on the couch, eating mac and cheese and watching stupid videos on youtube. He was in just pyjama pants and a t-shirt, the night too warm for anything else.  
There was a knock on his door and he sighed, pausing the show. He was a little tired of being around the others at the moment, tired of being paranoid.  
The former barista was too tired to realize what a stupid mistake he was about to make.  
He answered the door with a tired sigh, seeing Spoole on the other side, dressed in all grey. “Hey, Jack, the boss wants you to come see him.” Jack’s stomach dropped the moment he saw Spoole’s eyes catch his bare arm. “You have five soulmates?”  
“Yeah,” Jack shrugged, trying to act like it was nothing even as he saw a slowly dawning understanding on Spoole’s face. “I need to change into something else if I’m going to see them. Wanna come in?”  
“Sure. Yeah,” The awkward man murmured, stepping into the apartment, but thankfully not following any further as Jack made his way to his bedroom.  
Jack was shaking like a leaf as soon as the door closed, pulling on just a hoody and some slip on shoes as he quickly grabbed his keys, wallet and phone. He pulled up the chat on the gaming app, glad to see that his earlier message was still there.  
Who are Caboose and Cardin?  
He hit send just before pulling the screen off his window and slipping out into the fire escape below, heart pounding as he prayed he would make it to his car unnoticed.  
There was yelling as he made it into the car, but he managed to pull out before the guys could reach the parking lot. He felt unnerved, felt scared, and it only grew worse as he realized he didn’t have a way to call his soulmates for help. His best hope was for them to be home, or for Ryan to answer his messages.  
The city was just as beautiful as he remembered. It felt surreal, driving down the familiar streets, just trying to go unnoticed as he made his way towards the penthouse.  
He parked on the side of the road just outside their building, not even bothering to check if parking was legal there. He headed straight for the elevator, barely remembering the security codes to let him get to the top floor.  
The door was locked when he reached the top. The door was locked, and no matter how hard he pounded on it, no one responded.  
Finally, he made his way back down to the main entrance.  
“I need to call the occupants of the penthouse,” He said, before stumbling over their names and the actual condo number.  
“I’m sorry sir,” The man behind the desk said, thick eyebrows barely hiding the amused glint in his eyes. “That unit is currently unoccupied.”  
Jack reared away, glancing outside to see a truck already starting to tow his car  
“No…” He moaned, checking his phone to see no new replies. He’d gotten lucky before, messaging Ryan when he had probably been online playing with the others.  
He wasn’t lucky now.  
The lights flicked off, startling Jack enough that he didn’t immediately bolt. A pair of strong hands grabbed his arms.  
They started to drag him off, but they were interrupted by a little chuckle and the cock of a gun. “Thanks for catching him, Aaron. I’ve got him now.”  
Jack didn’t recognize the voice until the lights suddenly flicked back on. It was Cardin, the man holding a handgun up and pointing it at them both.  
“He killed _Blaine_ ,” The thickly eyebrowed man growled, gripping Jack tighter. “You can’t expect me to just let you take him. I want to fucking kill him.”  
“Too bad,” Cardin shrugged. “Joel wants him. You know I won’t let you kill him.”  
Eyebrows growled, but shoved Jack at the other bearded man, stomping away like a child denied a toy.  
Cardin tugged Jack out, giving the other no choice as they headed out towards an alleyway. There was a car waiting for them, windows tinted dark.  
A bag was pulled over Jack’s head and his hands were tied behind his back before he was shoved inside.  
Cardin shut the door behind Jack and soon the car was pulling out, going who knows where.  
And Jack could only hope that rescue would come soon or that his death would be quick  
Because they had to know who he was. They had to know who his soulmates were.


	12. La Vida Cocoa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much love to Kayasaurus for betaing. She's had a busy week so it was awesome she was able to do some chapters

It was disorientating, being driven around in the back of a car with a bag over his head. He entertained the thought of trying to keep track of the movements of the car, to try and guess at where they were going, but it was impossible to tell how fast they were going or what exact turns they were making. He couldn’t hear anything past the radio that was playing, and one sharp turn made his head slam into the back of a seat, disorientating him.  
He was taken out of the car roughly, and put onto some sort of wheelchair, his wrists being freed just long enough for them to tie him down to the chair, along with his ankles. It was even worse than the car as his chair was pushed along.  
They stopped somewhere, and Jack had to swallow down his unease as he could hear whoever had brought him there walk away.  
He couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t see anything, and he couldn’t feel anything besides the cold metal of the chair and the twisting of his gut. He shivered, though he was far from cold in his flannel and his hoody.  
“Most people underestimate me,” Caboose’s voice was uncomfortably close, and a moment later the bag was pulled off Jack’s head. They were in an office, Caboose sitting on it with his leg crossed over his lap, a handgun in his hand. He gestured idly with the gun as he spoke, seemingly unable to talk without gesturing. “I think it's because I’m insane. People see me, people hear about what I had to do to survive. And they judge. They all are just so full of judgements.”  
Jack licked his lips, so scared he felt it all loop around until he was feeling brave again. “What do they judge?”  
“I’m from the past. I’m from the time when you don’t get to play family. And everyone nowadays is young. Everyone nowadays gets to hide behind RT. Everyone has Burnie fucking Burns holding their hand,” His smile turned wistful again, “Back then, there was one universal rule in every crew. You meet your soulmate? You shoot them in the fucking head.”  
Jack swallowed hard, trying not to think of how things would have gone down for his mates if they had been in the middle of all that.  
“So you had to kill your mate?” Jack asked after a pause, honestly horrified.  
“They caught us, so I killed him,” Joel nodded, “I killed him and then killed most of my crew for good measure.”  
Jack tried to picture having to kill Ray, tried to picture Gavin being the one he had shot in the alleyway, tried to imagine Ryan choking him to death.  
“You made it quick though, didn’t you?” Jack said. “I mean… you made it quicker than they would have.”  
An actual smile crossed Joel’s face and he hooked Jack’s armrest with his foot, tugging the wheelchair closer. “So you get it. I did what I had to do and now suddenly everything is different. Anyone can keep their mate, mates are protected closer than actual crew members. If you want to book an assassin to kill a civilian, or to kill some low end crew member, you’re all set, but if they’re the soulmate of anyone important, suddenly it's a huge faux pas. It's punished harsher than killing off full crews.” He switched gun hands, foot idly swaying Jack’s chair. “There are so few assassins out there with the balls to target the mate of five of RT’s prodigal sons. And those brash enough to do it, are brash enough to try and go for even harder targets.”  
He reached back, then pulled out a photo of a familiar blonde.  
“Blaine Gibson. Born May 14, 1990. Master Assassin and greedy fuck. He was paid too much to kill off ‘Jack’, he and his fucking soulmate could have gone on and retired on some little island. Instead he gets it into his head to keep going and he lucks into finding Gavin Free in an alley.”  
Jack flinched a little, but Joel reached out, grabbing his chin.  
“You killed Blaine to protect Gavin didn’t you? To protect your soulmate?” Joel leaned over, tugging on Jack’s sleeve until the five lines of text were visible. His fingers brushed over them, making Jack twitch at the intimacy, before Joel sat back on the desk.  
“I did what I had to do,” Jack said.  
The dark haired man exploded in laughter again. “I like you. You’ve got a bit of fire in your veins.” He held up the gun, letting Jack see it. “This is the gun you used. It still has the same bullets in it even. We cleaned it up a little as time went by, but if I shot you in the fucking head right now, ballistics would match.”  
“Are you going to shoot me?” Jack asked, voice calm despite the shaking of his hands.  
“No. I’m not nearly that rude, especially after you survived for so long,” Joel stopped nudging the wheelchair. “I think I’ll keep you alive, let you outlive your stupid soulmates. Maybe that would add to that fire you’re so careful to keep smothered down.”  
Jack glared at him. “Don’t you dare touch them.”  
“I won’t. I’m not that kind of guy.” Joel shrugged. “Others are though. And it's not like they’re as smart as they think. Either they just let you go and didn’t care enough to keep tabs on you, or they did and missed the fact you’ve been working for me this whole fucking time. They spent so much time, so much energy to convince me that they were grieving, that Blaine had got the right Jack….” Joel scoffed. “My whole crew is made up of widowers. I know what mourners looks like. You don’t think the same afterwards, you don’t feel the same afterwards. Most days you feel nothing at all…. But hey, I’m just the crazy one no one expects anything of. I’m just a sadist and a murderer and I won’t see through any badly hidden bullshit. I can’t have a plan.”  
“What is your plan?” Jack asked.  
“My plan is for Adam and I to survive. We will outlast this all, outlast RT and die when we’re old and senile,” He said carefully. “And we will end anyone who tries to stop us.”  
“ _Joel,_ ” The intercom cut in, Cardin’s voice a little sharp. “ _We’ve got company. Burnie is here_.”  
Joel sighed, glancing at Jack and then patting his head. “Tell you what, we’ll try and let you live in the end of all this. I want to see how you are after losing so many mates.” He slipped off the desk, hitting a button on the intercom. “Meet me in the garage then. We don’t need this dump.”  
 _“Be careful.”_  
Joel reached over, spinning Jack around so that he was facing the door and left like nothing was wrong.

It was a good while before someone else stepped in.  
Jack had fidgeted the whole time, the zipties cutting into the skin of his wrists and his ankles chafing under his socks. There was very little in the office, it looking beyond abandoned, and he couldn’t see any bulges in the pockets of his hoody, meaning his phone, wallet and keys had either been removed or had fallen out in the car. Either way, once he was free, he doubted he would easily find a way to call for help and he wasn’t sure even where to turn to for help.  
His panicking was interrupted by a pissed off,vaguely hispanic, vaguely asian looking man holding a walkie talkie. “I found the asshole Joel was talking about. He’s up in the director’s office.”  
_“We’ll be right there,_ ” A man’s voice came through. “ _Is it Jack_?”  
The man cursed a little, rummaging through his pockets until he drew out a photo. He moved closer, eyeing Jack’s bared marked arm, and his face, glancing at the photo again. “Sure as hell seems like it.”  
There was a few minute pause while the asian man just started at Jack, barely blinking. When he did speak, it was to snort. “So you’re the poor bastard that finishes off their weird little family?”  
“Appears so,” Jack said, not sure if he was being saved now or just gaining new captors. “Who are you?”  
“Gus,” The man said, finally holstering his gun. “The right hand of the right hand of the leader of RT.”  
“So you’re one of the guys Caboose left here to avoid?” Jack asked.  
“His real name is Joel,” Gus said. “I’d suggest you call him that from now on. The name Caboose doesn’t really let you take him seriously.”  
“He was the one who put the hit on me two years ago, wasn’t he?”  
“It appears so,” Gus shrugged. “Now shut up, Burnie is the one who will actually want to talk to you.”  
It was a familiar blonde who arrived next, her tattooed hands holding a chainsaw that looked like it could bite straight through Jack. She smiled at him, nodding “Jack, it's been a while.”  
“Griffon,” He remembered her name after a moment. “Any chance you could untie me?”  
She pulled out a knife, ignoring Gus’s grumbled protests. “I never thought I’d see you again. Where have you been?”  
“Around,” He shrugged, not sure how to explain how much of an idiot he had been.  
A man with a short beard stepped in, immaculately dressed and wearing thick framed glasses. He gave them all a soft smile. “Good evening. You must be Jack.”  
“Yeah,” Jack said, rubbing at his raw wrists. “Thanks for the rescue.”  
“They got away,” A voice crackled on Gus’s radio.  
“Let's get somewhere more secure.” Burnie said. “Griffon….’  
“Yeah,” She nodded, grabbing Jack’s shoulder and tugging him out.  
It was unnerving to leave the brightly lit office to find themselves in a dark hallway, an old wheelchair resting under one of the walls.  
They were in an old abandoned hospital or asylum, the paint flecking off the walls and strange stains covering the old floors. It was eerie, making every hair on the back of Jack’s neck stand up.  
“Stay close,” Griffon said. “I can see the crazy bastard having booby traps set out.”  
“Who is Caboose? Joel? Whatever his name is…” The man heeded her warnings, staying close to her side as they passed a blood trail.  
“Joel Heyman,” The blonde sighed. “He’s… He was one of the main players of RT. He doesn’t… He supposedly didn’t operate a crew, everyone thought he just was a two man army with his partner, Adam.”  
“He has a crew,” Jack said. “He has had one for years.”  
“Well, we know that now,” She glanced at him. “Geoff and the others knew from the start. They’ve been pushing at Burnie and Gus since your supposed death. Just last week they pushed a little too hard.”  
“What happened?” Jack felt a knot forming in his stomach.  
She led him out to a parking lot filled with black SUVs and motorcycles. She led him to a car, the slim blonde tossing the chainsaw in the back before slipping into the passenger seat. “You’ll drive.”  
Jack nodded, a little surprised by how nice the interior was, between all the firearms and explosives. “If I crash this thing, will we take out a city block?”  
“I don’t think we should try it,” She just shrugged. “But maybe.”  
He could only let out a strained laugh.  
Griffon guided him through familiar streets, and he felt like laughing or crying when he realized they were headed for the penthouse.  
It was surreal, getting into the garage, and then heading up to the familiar apartment. Griffon was a little quiet, three handguns strapped to her hip and thighs.  
“There was someone here earlier, someone behind the counter….” Jack started, remembering those thick eyebrows.  
“Bring it up once Burnie is here,” She said as they stepped out into the small hallway leading to the penthouse. Inside was dark and disorganized. He could see empty places, where the guys had packed up things in a rush.  
Most of the decor was still in place, though a pillow had been left by the door, obviously forgotten at the last moment.  
Jack paused, leaning down to pick it up.  
It was one of his old flannel shirts, one of the ones that he had left behind. They had sewn it around a standard pillow, the stitching rough and clumsy.  
His heart sank a little at the sight, wondering if they had really missed him that badly  
“Hide that,” Griffon advised. “No one knows who you are.”  
He nodded, bringing it into the bedroom.  
It was even messier in there, the floor strewn with clothes and even a stray package of flavored condoms.  
He sat on the bed, overwhelmed by his own memories as he looked around. He thumbed at the buttons on the pillow, lifting it to his face.  
It didn’t smell like Jack anymore, instead it smelt like aftershave and alcohol, with the faint scent of weed.  
He set it down, going to the bathroom instead to try and fix his hair and face. He couldn’t afford to break down at that moment. He had to stay strong.

Burnie was there by the time Jack dragged himself out of the bathroom, the man sitting on a couch besides Gus, Griffon, and a dark haired man wearing a Lord of the Rings shirt under his dark coat.  
“Come sit down,” Burnie said, “We all need to talk.”  
Jack nodded, sitting on the end beside the stranger and trying not to listen for the familiar sounds of Gavin typing, Ray’s DS, or Michael murmuring curses at the XBox. No one was drinking, no one was lurking in the corners, there was no laughter or any fighting.  
Even with five people inside it, the apartment felt empty.  
“So, we can bring you up to speed,” Burnie said. “If you can tell us everything you know as well. This is Chris. He already knows who you are.”  
“Its nice to meet you,” The younger man said earnestly.  
“Same,” Jack nodded automatically. “So what is going on?”  
Gus sat up before Burnie could speak. “I got this,” He turned to face Jack. “Long story short, everything has got fucked up. Do you know about RT?”  
“They mentioned it once,” Jack shrugged, glancing around. “They didn’t like telling me much, they wanted me to stay separate from everything. But they said they had to go to RTX, and that you guys were like bosses to them…. Joel said something about you keeping the peace.”  
“Close enough,” Burnie nodded, “We manage almost every crew from Canada to the Mexican Border. We had a system in place, things to keep everyone relatively safe. Then a little over 2 years ago, some assholes started to find weaknesses in our security.”  
“It had to be an inside job,” Chris said. “Our security is stronger than mithril.”  
“What have I told you about referencing stupid shit like that,” Burnie murmured. “Christ Chris, it's hard to keep an air of professionalism when you do that.”  
“Sorry,” The man shrugged “It’s true though. There is no way anyone could have cracked through our defences without inside knowledge. And no matter what we did, they seemed to know what we were doing and were able to counteract it instantly.”  
“So what were they doing?” Jack asked.  
Burnie pulled out a tablet, quickly selecting a photo and passing it to Jack.  
It wasn’t the same map as he had seen on the wall in the office. The points were the same, and worse, the biggest dot was on the city Jack had left two days ago.  
“They sweep into cities, and slowly take down all the local crews. No one survives. They only leave crews unaffiliated with us. Then they move onto the next town.”  
Jack felt ill. “Joel is doing this?”  
“It fucking looks like it,” Burnie rubbed his face. “I can barely believe it. Joel is a crazy mother fucker, but he's loyal. Even with Geoff telling me for two years, even with him breaking the rules to try and target Joel, I couldn’t believe it.”  
“None of us could,” Gus said. “We even disbanded the Fake AH crew to protect the asshole.”  
“Things came to a head recently,” Griffon explained. “Geoff and the others were all but hiring assassins to go after Joel, and since it was unsanctioned RT froze the AH accounts. Their crew was temporarily disbanded and the guys were left without the resources for a professional hit.”  
“We should have listened to them,” Burnie said. “The moment they were alienated from the rest of us, RWBY was targeted. They were our second best crew, and within days they were all dead or missing. We finally got a lead from it, we finally were able to track down two of the assholes from the raid, and then this blue car driven by a “redheaded santa” came flying in, picked them up, and outdrove our best driver.”  
“Oh…” Jack felt the color drain from his face.  
“What the fuck does ‘oh’, mean?” Gus frowned.  
“I… Look…” He shifted, looking down at his lap. “I’ve been a secretary for the last two years… I thought the company was just some rich kid’s pet project or something, overfunded… I didn’t want to see that something sketchy was going on since I wanted things to work.”  
It was Burnie who figured it out. “You worked for fucking Inside Demos, didn’t you?”  
“That little company Joel runs to launder money?” Gus blinked. “No one works there.”  
“There were eight of us,” Jack said. “Two of my coworkers called me a few nights ago, needing a ride home after hitting the bars. Everything seemed fine… so when a truck pulled up guns blazing I just thought they were after me. That the secret had been leaked.”  
“You were the driver?” Burnie let out a laugh. “You’re fucking kidding me.”  
“Makes sense,” Griffon shrugged, “The rest of them are natural criminals, Jack would need some sort of natural talent to match them.”  
“Give us the names of your coworkers and we’ll get you back to your mates,” Burnie offered him.  
Jack shifted, feeling suddenly uncomfortable with the idea of giving their information. The guys had not been perfect, and near the end they had been bringing him to their homicidal boss but for two years they had been friends. He wasn’t sure how much of their interactions had been fake, but it had been real on his end.  
“They’re killing our people,” Chris said. “They’ll probably target Geoff and the others next, strike them before we can reunite with them and regroup.”  
He breathed out the names, closing his eyes and praying he wasn’t making a mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3?


	13. Hello is it tea you're looking for

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, Kayasaurus is the best beta in the world and went through 9 chapters in one night to finish up the whole series. All of the chapters are now completed, edited, uploaded and now I just gotta pick when to post each one... hmmmm...  
> Secondly, as always make sure you're on the right chapter. I uploaded one less than 24 hours ago so if you left off with a kidnapping, go back a chapter.
> 
> <3

Griffon took him to a high end hotel that night, passing him a new phone and a visa. “Here, in case we get separated.”  
“Alright,” He said, glancing down at the smartphone. “Can I get online with this?”  
“Sure,” She said. “Go nuts. Burnie is paying for it.”  
He was in her care No one knew where the AH Crew were hiding out, though Griffon knew most of their safe houses.  
“They won’t leave the city,” She had explained earlier, “This is their turf. They’d defend it to their last breath.”  
He was glad that they had been using chat, since as long as he remembered his password and account name he could sign in from any device.  
There was a wall of messages waiting for him.  
_Jack, stay away from them. They’re bad news._  
 _Where are you Jack?_  
 _Jack, message us. Those two are murderers with a grudge against us._  
 _JACK!_  
_Please Jack_  
He swallowed hard, wishing he had messaged them the question before it was too late. If he had asked them it when he had first typed it up, he might have gotten away.  
_I’m alright. I’m safe._  
He sent quickly, before adding onto it.  
_I’m with Griffon. RT saved me. Where are you all?_  
He waited by the phone for a few moments, before glancing up at Griffon.  
“Are we starting in the morning?”  
“Yes,” She said, giving him an appraising look. “But in the meantime, we will need to disguise you.

Griffon had shaved his face smooth on the sides, leaving only a relatively short van dyke. His face felt cold and sensitive, too exposed without the thick pelt of a beard he had maintained for years, and his face looked wrong. He doubted his own mother could recognize him.  
Griffon had nearly died laughing the night before, and she still grinned when she saw him. They had dressed him in a set of dirty coveralls that day and with some steel toe shoes, he looked miles away from his usual appearance.  
Griffon had donned a sundress and a wig, a soft beige coat hiding her tattoos and the holsters of her guns.  
“Any word.”  
He went to his phone, checking his phone a little anxiously.  
There was just one sentence.  
_She will know where to find us._

The message had been too optimistic.  
The two of them had spent the whole morning bouncing from safehouse to safehouse, each one just as empty as the last. Around 9 they had gone to another familiar apartment, and Jack swallowed a little too hard when he stepped into his old apartment. It was a little cleaner than before, and the furniture was designed to make use of the small space.  
But it had been empty, they had all been empty.  
They stopped in a fast food joint for lunch, blending in with all the other people on lunch break.  
“We’ll find them soon,” Griffon reassured him, “There’s only a handful of places left to check.”  
He nodded, picking at his fries. He just wanted to back with them, just wanted to have them back and have the hope that at least some of them wanted him safe. The politics of the war he had ended up in the middle of were escaping him, and he was always either too trusting or too paranoid.  
He was probably being too trusting in the other five. He could still end up going there just to be greeted by a bullet from Ryan.  
He wanted to believe in them though. He wanted to believe that the other men actually cared about him. That the pillow he had found in the penthouse meant that their bond was real, that at the end of the day they would love him.  
He barely noticed Griffon rise to go to the bathroom.  
What he did notice when a man dressed in a grey hoody sat across from him, baseball cap pulled low enough to mostly hide his bushy eyebrows.  
Jack swallowed hard. “Aaron.” He had forgotten to mention him again to Griffon, and now he could only mentally kick himself as he heard the click of a gun beneath the brightly painted table.  
“Good. You remember me,” He said roughly. “Follow me.”  
The formerly bearded man could only obey, hoping Griffon would know how to track them quickly. He contemplated leaving a bread trail of fries, before remembering that he wasn’t in a fairy tale, he was in Achievement City, and the pigeons would probably snatch them up instantly.  
Aaron was rough, tugging him along the streets. His phone was in the side Aaron was on, so he didn’t dare reach for his phone. He glanced around, but in the sidewalk crowds, no one seemed to notice them, even as Aaron jabbed his spine hard with the pistol.  
There was a van waiting down the road, and the engine started as they approached. “Open the door,” Aaron commanded him.  
“You know you won’t get away with this, right?”  
“How cliche,” The man said. “But I don’t care. All I want is to kill you.”  
Jack opened the sliding door, a little startled to see who was waiting inside.  
“Hey Jack,” The familiar voice made Jack’s heart skip a beat, though it was already nearly crashing out of his chest at the sight of Geoff lounging out on the floor. The man had barely changed in the last two years, the same old grin on his face. His usual business suit had been replaced by a band t-shirt and jeans, along with obnoxiously orange shades, but he looked good.  
Jack’s heart skipped a beat, and his first instinct was to step forward. “Geoff…” The word was practically a groan, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care about anything but the little playful smile on Geoff’s lips and the twinkle in his eyes.  
“You assholes,” Aaron hissed, before he was suddenly ripped away from Jack by two different pairs of hands. Jack looked back, just to see Ryan and Michael cornering the thickly eyebrowed man. The two looked livid, Ryan holding a thick knife. They looked beautiful to Jack, even with Ryan wearing that terrible mask and Michael looking like he had not slept in days. The redhead was frowning so hard his eyebrows were melded together and his eyes were ice cold. All Jack got to see of Ryan’s expression was the flash of blue eyes.  
“Don’t watch that,” Gavin said, peeking out from beside Geoff. The brit reached out to grab at Jack, pulling him into the van. “What happened to your beard?” He looked just as tired as the others, though his skin was tanner than Jack remembered. His hands were warm and his smile was a tiny bit hopeful, as if he thought Jack would ever leave them again.  
“Griffon,” Jack said, voice garbled from emotions. “She said I needed a disguise.”  
“It works,” Geoff said, firmly shutting the door. “Are you alright? Are you injured?”  
“Somehow, no,” He murmured, reaching out for them both.  
The moment he touched Gavin’s shoulder he was pounced on, the younger man letting out a little coo before claiming Jack in a kiss.  
Geoff’s warm hands drifted between them both, before settling on Jack’s hips, his mouth pressing chastely against the corner of a newly exposed jaw.  
Gavin was kissing him like he was trying to make up for lost time, clumsy hands gripping Jack’s collar.  
“Hey,” Ray’s voice said from the front of the van, voice relieved and a little amused. “Save it for when we get to the safehouse. Focus on our mission.”  
Gavin parted with a little murmur, “You’re too practical, Ray.”  
“No I’m not,” The puerto rican said, shooting Jack a hungry look before he started the van. “I just can’t drive while you’re all doing that, and if we stay parked here much longer we’ll have an orgy in a pedo-van.”  
They pulled out to the road, and Jack glanced around, unable to see what was going on back on the parking lot. “What about Ryan and Michael?”  
“They’re going to try and get some information out of him before they kill him,” Geoff said. “We didn’t think you’d want to be there for that.”  
“You’re right,’ He said, “But I want to see them.”  
Geoff grinned, pulling out his phone. “They’ll get home sooner if we tell them that.”  
The guys were staying at a beachfront condo, the kind usually just used for vacation rentals. Inside was clean, decorated with little seashell accents and soft colors so that Jack was reminded of Florida.  
The moment the door shut behind them though, they were back to groping at each other, Ray now added to the mix as the puerto rican managed to be the first to snag Jack’s lips.  
Jack just felt a deep seated relief to be reunited with the men. He hadn’t realized how unnatural it had been to be apart, or how lonely things had felt.  
The kisses had slowed by the time Michael and Ryan arrived. The four of them had squeezed onto a couch, Jack just enjoying the sensation of being surrounded by warmth.  
Michael marched right up to them all, grabbing Jack for a kiss that was equal parts possessive and relieved. As they parted the redhead seemed to scan him for injuries.  
“Jack….’ The brawler sounded shattered, eyes too soft. “Are you alright?”  
“Yeah,” He said, reaching out to grab Michael’s hand.  
There was soft noises from the kitchen, making all five turn to see Ryan getting a drink. The masked man sat at the kitchen table once it was poured, not looking in their direction.  
It made Jack frown a little, turning forward again and just grabbing onto Michael’s hand. The slight rejection was cutting him to the bone, making him wonder if Ryan had wanted him to stay away.  
“No,” Jack decided after a moment, closing his eyes and taking a steady breath.  
He stood up, ignoring the surprised looks from the others as he rose up, making his way to the table.  
Ryan didn’t move as he approached, his posture neutral and stiff in ways that let Jack know that the other man did not want to stay there.  
Jack reached down, gripping that ridiculous black mask and tugging it away carefully.  
Ryan had gotten his hair cut, the hair just long enough to frame his eyes. Those two blue orbs were staring up at Jack in confusion, but they fluttered closed as Jack leaned in to kiss him softly.  
“I… I know we didn’t part on the best of terms,” Jack said as he parted the kiss, still leaning in close to Ryan. He opened his eyes to see the same confusion as before, Ryan tensing. “And if you want things to stay ended between me and you, I’ll try and respect that but-”  
Ryan was too fast, tugging Jack off balance and rising up to meet him, making their bodies collide even as Ryan was standing. He had managed to hoist Jack up over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.  
“Ryan?”  
The guys were snickering from the couch as Ryan carried Jack to the loveseat. He put Jack down surprisingly gently, kissing his forehead. “Not right yet. But soon.”  
"Alright..." He murmured. "Are you okay?"  
"I just killed that man," Ryan said. "Michael helped me interrogate him and then I murdered him. I took him apart piece by piece and I enjoyed it."  
The man wasn't lashing out. He wasn't spitting out half truths to get a reaction from Jack. He meant it. Things just seemed all the more real when Ryan peeled off his black leather gloves, showing bloodstained hands beneath. He touched Jack’s bare cheeks with his dirty hands, “Do you understand?”  
“Yeah,” Jack said. He would be lying if he said he liked it. The others did what they had to do to survive. They killed for a purpose, even if the purpose was selfish and dangerous. He killed for the sake of killing, might even take risks for the chance to hurt people. But as terrible as it was, and as guilty as he felt for it, he wanted Ryan to be happy. “It's part of who you are.”  
Ryan gave him a genuine smile, then slid away.  
Jack ended up on the main couch again after a few minutes, settling down with the lads to watch an old comedy while Geoff went to start a barbeque.  
It was obvious he had been missed, Gavin being the clingiest as he somehow ended up on Jack’s lap, legs entangled with Ray’s. He was boney but warm, fingers absently smoothing along Jack’s coveralls.  
Jack smiled at the offering of potatoes, corn, and steak, since he had barely ate at the restaurant.  
“Does Griffon know you have me?” He asked. “She was the one keeping me safe.”  
“Yeah,” Geoff nodded. “I called her while I was outside. He swallowed down a few bites of food. “It looks like Burnie will finally let us get Joel.”  
“Isn’t it dangerous?” Jack asked. “Just going after him?”  
“It’d be more dangerous to let him just keep running around freely,” Ray pointed out. “The guy is hell bent on killing everyone. We’re lucky he didn’t get to kill you.”  
“Actually…” Jack stopped eating. “I think he plans on either sparing me or leaving me to last.”  
“He would, the sick fuck,” Michael said. “Probably wants to try and make you like him.”  
“It wouldn’t work,” Gavin started the obvious, “Jack is too gooey in the center.”  
“Like a pastry?” Ray laughed.  
“He does have cream filling,” Ryan said, completely nonchalant.  
Jack knew he was turning bright red, especially as Ray choked on his water.  
“Did you get to taste his creamy filling?” Gavin asked, looking far too amused with how embarrassed Jack was getting.  
Geoff just grinned. “I got to watch.”  
Jack let out a little involuntary noise and the other five burst into laughter.  
Geoff called Burnie after they ate, disappearing back onto the balcony. Michael passed Jack a bundle of clothes, mostly fleece and a massive shirt that proudly proclaimed that they shopped at a farming mercantile store.  
“Go wash up. You look like a mechanic.”  
“You don’t want me to give you an oil change?” He wiggled his eyebrows, and ventured into the bathroom.  
They only had weird expensive looking soaps and shampoo. The bathroom itself was huge and airy, the shower having three different heads. Jack just washed up, carefully ignoring the little bottle of lube on the counter.  
He wanted them all. He wanted to take his time and learn every one of their bodies, learn every one of their likes and dislikes. But even though he was over his anxiety, even though he knew they wanted him…  
It was hard enough to seduce one person, let alone 5 all at once. He would have to wait until they all came to him.  
He doubted it would take long, especially as he stepped out of the bathroom to see Gavin and Michael wrestling on the ground. Gavin had his shirt hiked up and Michael was between his legs, but both were focused on the cell phone Gavin was trying to keep out of the other man’s hands.  
“Whats going on?” Jack laughed.  
“There's a photo on his phone,” Ray grinned, “You should really see it.”  
“We got it last time Michael’s mom called,” Geoff grinned. “Did you know, baby Michael liked to play dress up.”  
Michael had managed to snag the phone, snapping it with his fingers before moving his hands down to pin Gavin. “Really Gavin? You thought you could outmaneuver me?”  
“But Micoo.”  
"Well, now that Jack is back, we need to all talk about tomorrow," Geoff started, nodding towards the couches.  
"Tomorrow?" Jack frowned. "You're going after Joel that soon?"  
"We have to get him before he can get us," Ryan said. “Who is staying behind?”  
“Staying behind?” Ray frowned.  
“There's no way in hell we’re leaving Jack here alone,” Michael said. “Not when so many people now know of him.”  
There was a long pause, before Gavin nodded. “I’ll do it. I’m the worst person in the field anyways.”  
“That's why you shouldn’t be the one,” Ray pointed out. “You can be pretty oblivious to danger.  
“But you’ll need everyone else,” Gavin said. “Geoff is good at strategy, Michael and Ryan are bullies, and you’re too good of a shot. It would be bad if you were here and we needed you there.”  
“Then I’ll come with you guys,” Jack said. “I’ll just stay in the car or something, somewhere out of the way but where you know I’m fine.”  
“Jack can come up with me when I find a good nest,” Ray said. “Up somewhere on a roof.”  
“Fine,” Geoff said. “We might benefit from Jack being there to drive us away if things get rough.”  
“Alright,” Jack nodded, “I’ll stick to Ray then.”  
“Of course you will,” Ray said. “Have you seen how long my gun is.”  
“Its compensating for something,” Michael said. “Something short.”  
“Yeah,” Ray nodded, “But I’ve got precision and skill. I don’t just go in and just beat around blindly, relying on size and strength.”  
“I’m a perfect lover,” Geoff cut in, eyebrows wiggling. “And moustache rides are free.”  
They all laughed, then went on to play games. It was easy to just cuddle together on the couch, folding together as if there had always been six of them.  
Jack was the first to give in to exhaustion, hesitating slightly as he glanced towards the bedrooms.  
“Come on,” Ray said standing to follow him. The puerto rican led him straight to the oversized bed, kicking off his pants and shirt before climbing into the center of the bed. He reached out to Jack pleadingly. “Cuddle?”  
“Sure,” Jack’s mouth had gone dry at the glimpse of soft, tan skin but he forced himself to try and act collected. He stripped down to his boxers and slid in with Ray, pleasantly surprised at the smooth, cool feel of the sheets. Ray was cold, pressing his feet to Jack’s unprotected legs as soon as the larger man was spooning him.  
Jack just chuckled, still giddy at the sheer realization that he would get the chance to get used to this. That he would have years ahead of them where cold feet, stolen blankets, and bed hogs might become issues.  
In the meantime, he curled around Ray as much as possible, not even bothering to remove his glasses.  
He woke when Michael arrived and tried to pull them off Jack and Ray, the redhead being the only other to know how annoying it was to wake up with little dents on half your face from the frames. There was a sore spot on Jack’s nose from where the little pad had been digging into his face, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. There were more bodies around them now, and it seemed Michael was the last to go to bed.  
Michael rolled his eyes, rubbing the little bruise. “You’re gunna warp your glasses.”  
Jack just sleepily turned his head, catching Michael’s wrist and kissing it softly. “Come to bed.”  
“I am, idiot,” Michael laughed quietly, leaning back over to put all three pairs of glasses on the nightstand before joining the cuddle pile. His arm lazily wrapped around Geoff, hand landing on Jack’s hip.  
The bearded man fell asleep again, content in the tangle of limbs and body heat.


	14. Chai Hard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Mogar's POV. I think you'll find it satisfying.
> 
> Make sure this is the right POV. If you left off with a kidnapping go to 12. If you left off with Burnie go to 13. If you left off with something great stay here and get ready for explosions.*
> 
> *There is no guarantee of explosions. Batteries not included.

Michael had never shot a gun before he had joined his soulmates.  
He had never had a reason to. He had worked as a bouncer, had enjoyed the excuse to brawl and fight. His contacts had hooked him up with a fake identity good enough to trick the best nightclub into hiring him, and it was oddly amusing, telling off people older than himself for trying to sneak in.  
He took place in real brawls too. Street fights where he wasn't sure if the other was going to pull out a knife or needle, just to even the odds if they were losing. The only rules were that you couldn't use projectile weapons and you couldn't injure spectators, and Michael was sure he had killed a few men with his bare hands.  
He had never intentionally killed anyone until he joined the Fake AH crew. He had never threatened anyone who hadn't deserved it. He had never killed a woman.  
He never let himself dwell on those things. Michael had never been a good person and he had never felt like he had lost anything by being what he needed to be. The others had needed him, they had benefitted from the destruction he caused.  
They understood him. They understood the rush of excitement you could get from just taking what you wanted from the world and fucking over anyone who tried to stop you.  
Jack was Michael's worst nightmare.  
He was not afraid of Jack getting hurt, or killed. That threat was constant for all of his soulmates. Just because any of them were better at killing than most didn't make them invincible. He had come to terms with that the day he had joined them.  
What he really feared was what they were going to do to Jack. The man would lose pieces of himself if he tried to become part of their crew. Jack would break apart if he tried to harm anyone.  
That day in the alleyway haunted Michael's dreams. The bullet that had killed Blaine had been fired by Jack, the bearded man falling into a chasm of guilt. He could see something in Jack’s eyes afterwards, the kind of horror and pain that made Michael furious.  
He could protect Jack from attackers. He could save Jack from kidnappers. He could survive burying Jack. He would never be able to live with himself for letting Jack get that involved. He would never forgive anyone for the pain in Jack’s eyes  
The pain he had felt when he had thought Jack had been murdered, the pain he had felt on the plane nothing to the pain he had felt as they had tried to keep Jack from falling apart.  
Then Jack had left. And Michael had fallen apart.

Michael felt a little anxious as they tried fitting Jack with a kevlar vest.  
It felt wrong to let him come with them. It felt wrong to let him see what they were like. Ryan was already giddy with the chance for more revenge. The man had enjoyed killing Aaron, both because of the man’s intentions and because of Blaine’s intentions.  
Michael had just enjoyed the interrogation, having reduced the man to a mess of blood and tears  
They wouldn’t be able to give Joel the same treatment. Even if Burnie and Gus gave them permission to seriously hurt their former ally, Jack would be right there and Jack would get frightened. Ryan had let the bearded man see the blood on his hands, but he had not shown him what state Aaron had been when he had finally died.  
"Here," Ryan passed Jack a grey hoodie. "Keep the hood up. It will help you blend in.”  
“Thanks,” Jack said, pulling on the sweater and giving them all a nervous mile. "Are you all ready."  
"Yeah, we've been ready for years to take this cocksucker down," Geoff grinned.  
"Come on Jack,” Ray reached out for him.

Jack was still an amazing driver, seamlessly navigating the streets as everyone sat in the back, preparing their weapons. Michael was the one sitting in the front, since he prefered simpler weapons that needed less maintenance.  
Jack was glancing at them all occasionally, a wrinkle forming between his eyebrows.  
“Stop worrying,” Michael said, managing to sound cocky. “It's not the first time we’ve done this you know.”  
“And it's not the first time he’s faced it,” Jack pointed out. “He’ll be expecting you.”  
“That won't help him," Michael said, "He has already done too much to piss us off. To piss RT off. He knows he won't survive all this."  
"I think he's already dead inside anyways," Geoff pointed out. "With what happened to him and Tucker... He used to be dumb and playful...not this."  
“He’s still dumb,” Ray said, “Dumb and now dead.”  
Jack frowned as they pulled into a motel parking lot. ‘Where am I dropping people off?”  
“Pull into a spot,” Gavin said. “We’ll all walk to where we need to be.”  
“Stay with Ray,” Michael said. “No matter what anyone does, no matter how intense things get, you stay with Ray until one of us tells you to do otherwise.”  
Jack nodded, reaching over to touch the redhead’s knee. “Be careful. They’re dangerous.”  
“We’re dangerous,” Michael snorted, before pulling away. He put his earpiece in as they walked, and by the time he had it on, Jack was adjusting his.  
Michael stuck with Geoff, the two sneaking around the front of the building while Gavin and Ryan covered the fire exits. It was strangely calm and quiet, the first clue that the whole motel was empty.  
It belonged to Joel and Adam, and from what they could tell, they had stopped renting out rooms a month ago.  
“Alright, Fake AH,” Gus spoke up. “Try and capture them alive. We’ve all got a ton of questions.”  
“They will be alive, but not intact,” Ryan purred.  
“We’re ready,” Gavin said.  
“As are we,” Ray said.  
“Comfy Jack?” Geoff asked.  
The newbie’s voice was warm and calm. “Yeah. It's breezy up here.”  
Geoff nodded at Michael and they opened the door.  
The motel room was empty.  
It was more than empty. The beds were stripped down and flipped, the furniture pushed to the sides, every closet was open, and the only thing left in the center of the room was a life sized cutout of Joel waving at them in glee.  
“The cocksucker isn’t here,” Michael hissed, marching inside and kicking a chair. “Where the fuck are they? You said they were here.”  
“I don’t understand-” Chris started.  
“Look for a secret hatch,” Geoff said. “Those paranoid bastards would have a secret hallway.”  
“We’ll come around and join you,” Ryan said. “Wait for us if you find it.”  
They split up, Michael exploring the bathroom while Geoff searched the walls.  
“I’ve got it,” Geoff said. “Michael-”  
There was a sudden noise, making Michael instinctively duck, before reaching for his gun and rushing back out to Geoff.  
The man was sitting on the ground, looking like he’d been knocked down. A strained smile was on his face though, and he nodded towards the wall. A section of the paneled wood walls had slid back, revealing a narrow but well lit hallway.  
“Found it,” Geoff said, “That was relatively easy.”  
“Are you alright?” Michael asked, reaching out to help him up.  
“Actually…” Geoff lifted his hand from where he had been pressing it to his side. His palm was covered in blood.  
“Fuck,” Michael knelt down next to him. “What was it? What hit you?”  
“I think it was a dart,” Geoff said. “Or a strange bullet. It's still in there.”  
“You’re hurt?” Jack sounded a little devastated over the coms. “Whats going on?”  
“Get going Michael,” Ryan said. “Gavin and I are almost there. We’ll get Geoff. You need to get them.”  
Michael leaned in, giving Geoff a brief kiss before dashing off towards the hallway.  
The lights inside were almost too bright, making him squint a little as he followed the long hallway. It sloped down, and ended in a sharp u-turn before continuing on seemingly forever. The floor seemed to level after a while, but it felt like forever before Michael seen a door.  
It was unremarkable, and locked from his side, but he still was careful to dive away as soon as he yanked it open.  
He was now outside, on a river bank.  
The earpiece was just white noise now, and he wondered if there was a jammer or if he had seriously ran that far that he was out of range.  
All his thoughts left him though when he saw the small cabin in front of him, nestled in between the trees on the edge of the river, and two familiar figures on a wharf, preparing to get away on seadoos.  
“Motherfuckers,” Michael growled, sloppily aiming his gun and trying to hit them. Joel was already leaving, the slim man pausing only to wave at Michael, but Adam seemed to hesitate. The bearded man turned, either to try and negotiate or to try and kill Michael but it was far too late for him to try either  
They had hurt Geoff. They had nearly killed Jack. They had captured and threatened Jack. They had nearly killed Gavin.  
He aimed at the seadoo, somehow managing to hit the front control panel. The engine fizzed out, completely dead, and Michael could see the terror in Adam’s eyes as he advanced.  
He hooked a hand around the bearded man’s arm, hauling him back onto the rough wooden wharf and shoving his other hand just below his sternum, making sure the air was knocked out of him. The first punch caught the other man in the jaw, and then the second hit him straight in the eye. He lost track after that, until one punch made his gloves hook on the man’s piercing, tugging it straight through his nose and shredding his flesh.  
The resulting scream was satisfying.  
“Stop,” It was surprisingly Joel’s voice that cut through his bloodlust, the man’s seadoo parked just out of reach from the wharf.  
Michael reached for his gun, but he could already hear a click from behind him. Burnie, Gus and Ryan were approaching the wharf, all aiming at Joel.  
Joel pulled out a gun, only to toss it to the water. “I surrender.” He looked strangely serious, strangely sane and yet desperate.  
“Joel…” Adam murmured, so quiet that Michael had barely heard it, but Joel’s eyes were locked on his bloodied, fallen partner.  
“We surrender. We’ll confess. We’ll do whatever you want, just don’t kill him.”  
“You don’t get to say shit like that,” Michael hissed. “You don’t get to ask for mercy when you’ve been trying to kill us.”  
“We-”  
Burnie stepped forward. “Alright. You’ll be in RT custody from now on. Get back on the wharf so we can ‘cuff you.”  
“You can’t be serious,” Michael said. “You’re letting them live? After everything?”  
“We need to know how they did it,” Gus reminded him. “We need to know what weak points they used, how to capture their allies. Jack’s information wasn’t enough.”  
Ryan reached out to touch Michael’s shoulder, and the redhead relented, still keeping Adam pinned before one of Burnie’s boys stepped forward to take him. They were stripped before they were tied, but neither man seemed to notice, seemingly having a silent conversation with their eyes. It hurt Michael, seeing the two getting away with their lives. He couldn’t get satisfaction from the resigned look in Joel’s eyes, or the pure, soul-wrenching guilt in Adam’s. Both looked too worried for the other, and it just made Michael frustrated, that two men who had targeted his soulmates and lost their right to a soulmate could find happiness together. He still wasn’t sure if it was a romantic thing, but even if it wasn’t it infuriated him.  
He marched up to the cabin, unsurprised to find it unlocked.  
There was a map on the wall, proudly displaying all they had done. There was notes, were pictures, even obituaries, showing every bit of destruction they had done.  
“Geoff is alright,” Ryan said as he entered the cabin, coming up behind Michael. He pulled off his mask, showing off sloppily done paint and tired looking eyes. “Are you okay?”  
“Of course I’m not,” The redhead said, pointing at the map. “Look at this shit. They’re going to get away with everything.”  
“They’re captured.”  
“That means jackshit in our world. A sloppy guard, a diplomatic bargain, or even just one of their men going undercover as one of Burnie’s men and suddenly they’ll be free again.”  
“And then we will hunt them again,” Ryan promised, coming up to wrap his arms around Michael. His hands ran over his bloodstained gloves. “And we won’t have anyone with us to stop us.”  
Michael nodded, letting Ryan hold him for a few minutes before heading in further to ensure nothing was there before he headed for the door.  
Something nigged at his brain when he glanced at the map again. After a pause, he pulled out his phone, snapping a picture before heading back to that endless hallway.

Jack and Ray were waiting for them in the truck when they got back out, Jack looking a little pale but strong.  
“Geoff is fine. It just missed anything vital,” Ray said, offering the more bloodthirsty mates a smile as they climbed inside. “We’ve changed hideouts again to be safe.”  
“Are you two alright?” Jack asked. “What happened?”  
“They surrendered,” Ryan said, voice neutral. “They’re in RT custody now.”  
“Really?” Ray asked, disbelievingly.  
“That's great.” Jack said, smiling. “So we’re safe now?”  
Ray hesitated, then nodded. “Safer for now at least.”

Geoff was fine, half lounged out on the couch as Gavin sat under his legs, typing away at his computer. There was a glass of expensive whiskey in Geoff’s hands, meaning their illustrious leader had opted for alcohol over pain meds, which was a good sign.  
Michael had headed straight for the shower, throwing his gloves and coat into a bag to be disposed of later. He couldn’t stand to stand directly under the water for too long, feeling too raw.  
He wanted to destroy something.  
Ray was there when he stepped out, no DS or sniper rifle in sight. The man took his hand, leading him out past where half their mates were arguing over a game.  
The puerto rican waited until they were in the spare bedroom before speaking. He had closed the door behind them, giving Michael a concerned look. “You okay man?”  
“Not really,” Michael said. “This whole thing is still gone to shit. We had them. Two bullets and all this would have been over.”  
“I know,” Ray said, moving closer and pulling him in for a kiss. “I know.”  
Michael wrapped his hands around Ray’s hips, glad for an outlet for his frustration.  
Afterwards, Ray was curled against Michael, neither minding being bare naked, with the sheets on the floor.  
“I think Geoff was hoping on us all seducing Jack tonight,” Ray admitted, “Now he’s gotta heal up a bit before he’d be up for it.”  
“That would have been amazing,” Michael smiled at the thought. “We’ve all already waited too long.”  
“Hey. At least you all got to touch him first,” Ray said.  
“Thats your own fault,” The redhead laughed. “You’ll have to try harder if you don’t wanna be the last to touch his dick.”  
“I don’t care about that,” The darker skinned man shrugged, “But I have a plan to spend more time with him.”

They all ate supper together, sitting around the coffee table and trying not to make a mess with their greasy pizza and beer. Their new townhouse was a bungalow in the suburbs, decorated as if it belonged to a typical family, and it was somewhat strange to see a floral throw pillow tucked under Ryan’s elbow. Geoff was his usual self, trying to get Gavin to gag over the sight of beer soaked pizza, and Ryan was clean faced and quiet, obviously enjoying the chance to relax after so long.  
Ray was the most entertaining to watch, the man playing with his straw and occasionally opening his mouth as if to say something. Finally he gained some courage. “Hey Jack-”  
“You need to learn how to use a gun,” Gavin interrupted.  
Michael felt like smacking him, sharing an exasperated look with Geoff as Jack’s face clouded over.  
“No I don’t,” Jack said. “I’m never going to get involved in stuff like that.”  
“Not ever?” Gavin pushed. “Not even if it's a matter of us or them?”  
“I… I just can’t,” Jack admitted, before standing and retreating.  
“For fucksakes, Gavin,” The redhead hissed, his own frustration coming back to him as the five just sat there, unsure if they should go to Jack or give him time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) ?


	15. Sweet Tea (what's wrong?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanna point out that I'm not a medical professional. Please ignore any inaccuracies.
> 
> So I'm already posting a chapter a day but I did promise extra updates every 50 kudos soooo...  
> Here's the second update for today.  
> If you haven't read Michael's POV stop right now, thank you very much.  
> Go back a chapter (or more)

It was a long time before Jack had calmed down enough to think about returning. He could only think about it, not ready to go back and face them.

He did not know if he could talk about it with the others. He wasn’t sure if they would understand letting one death drag him down so far. He could barely remember the man’s face, but now he had Aaron’s to remember.

He didn't not feel bad about Aaron's death. He didn't know why. He was just as guilty as the others, even if he hadn't been there when it happened. He had killed the man's soulmate, which was why he had hunted Jack in the first place, but the others had killed Aaron to save Jack. They had probably tortured him, had probably made the man wish for death for a while before it came...

Jack had killed Blaine to save Gavin. Jack had not meant to cause pain. But for some reason he felt much, much worse about it. He his chest ache when he remembered hurt, hazel eyes and he had to sit down.

He was no closer to calming down by the time Geoff hobbled into the room. He was alone, barely staying on his feet as he made his way to Jack.

The man didn't speak at first, instead pulling Jack in close. He smelt like antiseptic and rum, and Jack was afraid to hold him back, afraid of hurting him.

"PTSD," Geoff said softly. "That's what's eating you up, if you haven't figured it out yet."

"What?" Jack's voice was hoarse, like he had been crying.

Geoff moved his hands up to touch Jack's cheeks, gently guiding him to look up. The bearded man complied, staring up into Geoff's dark eyes.

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," Geoff gave him a gentle smile. "You're going to be okay. We will help you through it."

"Will I get through it though?" Jack shook his head. "It's been two years."

"Two years without us helping you," Geoff kissed him softly. "Two years without any help from anyone, let alone five smart assholes that love you."

"Geoff..." Jack felt a lump forming in his throat as he met his gaze again

He loved them too. He would try to get better, try to let them help him, but it was hard to believe it was PTSD. That was shell shock, that was flashbacks and outbursts and catatonic states.

That wasn't the same as just the sheer guilt churning in his stomach.

"Jack...." Geoff murmured, leaning in to kiss him. "Joel is locked away, we're all together and we're unstoppable. We have years ahead of us. We'll make sure you're happy and okay."

"I am happy," Jack said, finally reaching up to grip Geoff's hips, careful to give his wound a wide berth.

"No you aren't," Geoff leaned down for a deeper kiss. "But you will be." There was hunger in his gaze, but there was affection too. It made Jack remember those few mornings before everything had gone to hell. Things had been perfect then, he wished he had known it at the time.

Gavin had murmured an apology into the crook of Jack’s neck when they had gone to bed. It had been a small, soft whisper, and it just made Jack just feel more fragile. He wrapped himself around Gavin in retaliation and kissed him, determined to feel normal again.

Gavin practically climbed onto Jack, making him fall back against the wall. Long fingers traced Jack’s arms, Jack’s thighs, before they were too lost in kisses to remember anything else. Jack drew away enough to look up at the younger man.

Gavin was not eager to break the kiss, but still managed a smile down at Jack. He was beautiful like that, looking a little wrecked. His wide eyes were dilated, mouth a little swollen and parted to let him breathe.

Jack just pulled him down again, needing to taste more of him.

They kissed for what felt like only a few minutes, but then Gavin was pulling away to yawn. Jack finally noticed the clock, and how quiet the house was. "We should go to sleep," Jack decided, knowing they weren't going to go further that night.

"Tomorrow we can continue this," Gavin nodded, looking a little exhausted now that he wasn't being powered by arousal.

Jack went through the motions of getting ready for bed, even crawling into the empty side of the bed behind Michael. The redhead murmured his appreciation as Jack's arm wrapped around him.

It felt too stuffy on the bed. It wasn't that he didn't want to be there, holding Michael and listening to Geoff's soft snores, but he couldn't handle the dark corners of the room, the silence making his ears ring like alarms.

He finally let himself get back up after an hour, hating himself a little for having to let go of Michael's warm body. He felt too exposed at first, before he stumbled out to the couch and saw Ryan sitting there, watching some crime drama with the volume on mute and subtitles on.

Neither man hesitated as Jack slipped onto the couch and was wrapped up in Ryan's arms. Ryan was just in loose pyjama pants and a Henley. He smelt faintly of aftershave, and his face was completely cleaned, lacking even the slight hints of old makeup that sometimes lingered on Ryan's hairline and under the corner of his jaw.

Wordlessly, Ryan changed the channel to an old pirate movie.

"Do you ever remember the people you've killed?" Jack asked softly. "Do you ever have nightmares about your past?"

"Never," Ryan said matter-of-fact, “I know this isn’t what you want to hear… but the only people in the world that I wouldn’t be able to kill without guilt are these.” He rolled up his sleeve, revealing the pale skin of his arm.

 

_So are you here to kill me? Cause its kinda smart to kill someone when they’re drunk as dicks._

_Fine, but in exchange you're lending me that mask one day._

_Depends on who’s asking._

_Whoa for a second there I was afraid._

_Then would you like a coffee? And lock the door, last thing I need is more armed men in the cafe._

 

“What about our allies? Our friends?” Jack said.

Ryan shrugged, “I would not kill them without a good reason. It would hurt you guys.”

Jack should have felt strange learning that the only bit of empathy or humanity in Ryan was based on the rest of them, but he had already guessed it before.

The murderer held him gently, leaving his arm uncovered as Jack traced the words on his arm. He couldn’t help but smile at them all. “Most of us seemed fully aware of what you were capable of from the start.”

“None of us knew anything about you,” Ryan said. “Other than your occupation… and we even seemed to have made some wrong assumptions because of it.”

“Do you think that you all would have been different without the evidence of a criminal future on your arm?”

“Not really,” It was Gavin, the brit creeping out with a blanket wrapped around him. He nudged at Jack, confusing him for a moment before he realized Gavin wanted him to move his legs up onto the couch, back against Ryan’s side with Ryan’s marked arm still around him. Gavin climbed onto Jack, somehow settling over him and spreading the blanket over them both, his bony limbs pressing into Jack momentarily until he settled.

“Are we showing off our marks?” He held up his own bare arm.

 

_Back off and get your giant-ass nose out of our business asshole._

_You shouldn't say that to a guy holding a gun._

_Yeah I can believe that. Damn._

_Did you say your name was Vav?_

_Hi what can I get started for you?_

 

“These days, the guns could be talking about video games,” Gavin pointed out. “Or someone commenting on a movie. Or paintball.” The brit glanced up at Ryan, then back at Jack. “You know who you are. You know what you like. We can’t be civilians any more than you could be a happy coffee critic. It's not in our bones.”

It was soothing, being trapped between the two warm bodies on the warm couch, Ryan not complaining even as Jack felt himself sink further and further into his arms.

 

They woke to the smell of bacon and the sound of Ray humming a song about baking a cake Jack remembered vaguely from youtube.

Ryan was already up, having left a pillow under Jack’s head. Geoff was manning the frying pan, wearing just an apron and briefs, while Ray was working a waffle maker.

Gavin was slow to wake, but he gave Jack a little smile, burying his nose in his chest. “Morning,” He mumbled.

“Good morning,” Jack chuckled, utterly charmed.

Breakfast was waiting for them by the time they untangled themselves from the couch, Jack’s plate having a tall glass of orange juice besides it in lieu of the others’ coffee.

“We’ve got to go to HQ today,” Geoff said as they all sat. “Make sure Joel is locked away properly.”

“Then we’ll start moving back into our home,” Gavin chirped, spooning up some beans and a fried tomato onto his plate.

Michael grinned. “We’ll be playing drunk mario kart again soon from the comfort of our own couch.”

“Jack,” Ray began to speak, though he hesitated as their eyes met. Jack smiled, already having an educated guess as to what man was about to ask, “Uhh…”

“Will you be moving in with us finally?” Geoff butted in. “This would be the perfect time, since we could all move in together.”

“Yeah,” Jack nodded, flushing a little. “I will.”

The whole table broke into smiles, but Ray shook his head. “Thats great man, but that's not what I was gunna ask. Do you wanna go on a date sometime?”

“Sure,” The idea made him feel a little giddy actually. He had never seen the others do anything traditionally romantic together, so he had thought they weren’t that interested, besides Geoff’s drunken bet.

Geoff seemed to remember it at the same time. “Hey, he owes me a date first.”

“Nope,” Ray said. “I’m taking him tonight. Besides, your date had a clause in it about going to his home alone and he doesn’t have an apartment right now.”

“I technically do,” Jack said. “All my stuff is there at least… Joel probably owns the building.”

“We’ll go there tomorrow with you, see if we can get your stuff back,” Geoff said. “And then I’ll take you on a date that makes you forget about whatever you did with Ray.”

Ray just grinned at the challenge. “More like he’ll be bored to death by having to share the date with your ego.”

Gavin snorted. "Or by the sex afterwards."

Geoff's waffles did not survive the following scuffle.

 

It was no surprise when he was passed the car keys as they were getting ready. What he wasn't expecting was the warm leather jacket Geoff passed him. "Here. It'll help you blend in more."

"People will figure out who you are," Michael pointed out. "Don't let any of them intimidate you. As our mate, you're fully protected."

"Alright," Jack nodded, pulling on the bomber jacket and smoothing down his jeans. The guys had bought him new clothes in brands he'd never heard of, but he looked good. As he caught their reflection in the mirror, he realized at first glance he blended in with the others.

 

It was a two hour drive to the city where Joel was being kept. It was a cloudy, rainy day, threatening them with a thunderstorm, but Jack was used to highway driving.

It reminded him of his last job. Of carpooling with Inside Demos.

"The men that worked for Joel," Jack started hesitantly. "What happened to them?"

"Nothing yet," Geoff said, "We can't find them."

"They might be given the option to join RT," Ray shrugged. "They have to be good to have gotten so far with just them doing all the work."

"I can't believe all that time they were really a crew," Jack said, eyes staying on the wet pavement. "I thought they were just regular people."

"Hey, being obvious and intimidating works for some people," Ray nodded at Michael and Ryan. "But for the rest of us, looking relatively normal is great camouflage. No one takes me and Vav seriously unless they know our rep."

"If they were sloppy enough that they didn't know who you were, they might have gotten sloppy enough to really consider you their friend," Michael added.

"I don't know if that would make me feel better or worse," Jack said. "Their next target was in Achievement City... So it was probably you guys."

"Most people have tried to kill us at some point in time," Ryan shrugged. "You can't keep track of that stuff."

"That should've been a clue to be more wary of Joel and Adam to begin with," Geoff mused. "They never targeted other crews."

They were being held in a large building, the outside looking like an old office building. The bottom floors were done in black brick, while the rest were painted a gaudy gold colour, reaching up for the sky.

"We call it The Tower of Pimps," Gavin said in an almost worshipping tone. "It's the only building RT keeps. Usually they bounce things from location to location, but this never changes."

"Is it a prison or something?" Jack asked

"No one knows," They pulled into an underground garage, traveling down several floors before entering a well lit room similar to the garage at their penthouse.

"There's no security?" Jack asked surprised. "Not even a gate?"

Gavin laughed. "There's more security here than you can imagine. But they don't flaunt it. If you can't tell what measures they have, you can't plan around them."

"Or they could have none and are getting by because of their reputation and the rumours," Jack mused, before they started to get out of the car.

The elevator was unguarded, but he was surprised to see no buttons inside or screens inside. The walls were made of etched metal and perfectly installed so that Jack could not tell where one piece ended and another began.

Once they were all inside, the elevator began to rise. It was surprising jarring, rising in an elevator without any clue as to how far they had gone and had yet to go.

The room they stepped out into was brightly lit and surprisingly resembled an office. A guard stood there in full Kevlar. He nodded at them all, stubbled face looking like it wanted to smile. "Good morning, Mr Ramsey, Mr Haywood, Mr Free, Mr Narvaez, Mr Jones, and Mr Pattillo."

"Miles," Geoff smirked. "You're our escort today?"

"Naturally," He nodded. "Follow me, I'll lead you straight to the prisoners."

The hallways were quiet and empty besides the occasional piece of art. Most doors were closed, but one or two were open a crack, revealing hints of bizarre workspaces and even what appeared to be a room just for cats with a plaque reading "Joe" on the door.

They entered a room with just Chris and a whole wall of monitors inside.

The slim man offered them a weak smile. "I was hoping you'd show up. There's been some... Developments."

"Developments?" Geoff scowled. "What does that mean? Don't tell me you've lost them."

"No, they're secure and aren't leaving here alive," Chris said, holding his hands up placatingly. "We just may have more changes to place on them."

He tapped on one of the monitors, where a recording of Adam was playing.

 _"So,_ "  An unknown woman was saying from offscreen. _"Just to be clear, you are claiming responsibility for the death of Jaune Arc?"_

 _"Yes_ ," The man's face was bruised and bloody, the nose ring ripped straight out of his nose. It looked like they had stitches the wounds closed. _"I killed Jaune."_

_"Were you aware he was a member of RWBY and thus protected by RT?"_

_"No,"_ He shook his head. _"I did not learn about RT until afterwards."_

_"Why did you target Mr Arc.."_

_"He was my bondmate."_

_"Mr Arc was killed a year after the practice of killing bondmate was abolished."_

_"You misunderstand, I didn't kill him just because he was my bondmate,"_ The usually sweet looking man suddenly seemed sharp and dangerous, eyes locking onto the camera. _"I killed him because he was a terrible mate."_

Miles cleared his throat. "Why is that an issue? It seems clean cut to me. If he was his mate and he killed him for other reasons, he's absolved. If he killed him out of superstition, he would get life imprisonment."

"We think Joel must have done it," Chris said. "Adam doesn't show any of the symptoms of the madness that comes from killing off your mate."

"Joel said before that their whole crew are widowers," Jack added softly. "That wouldn't mean he killed all their mates... Would it?"

"That's fucked up," Ray said. "How would that work? Why would you work for a guy that killed your mate?"

"Maybe they aren't dead," Gavin shrugged. "Maybe they did what we did and made it just look like it."

"Jaune is dead," Miles cut in. "He's definitely dead."

"Did you know him?" Gavin asked, surprised.

"Yeah," The guard shifted. "So if Joel did it, he'll be executed?"

"Yeah," Chris said, "Perhaps. By all rights they should already be killed. They broke a lot of rules. But Risenger was blamed for Jaune's death and was already punished for it."

"Shit," Michael whistled. "The Risemonger?"

"Who is he?" Jack cut in, already a little lost.

"He used to run a crew, the Diddlefingers," Geoff said. "He semi-retired a few months ago, since he started a family. If he was punished for Jaune's death and it turns out that it was Joel and Adam that killed him, then that means that Joel and Adam's fate will be up to him."

"So? Doesn't he hate them," Ray said. "I say he'd just kill them."

"We need to get information out of them first though." Chris said. "And you know Burnie won't like them getting killed by the Risemonger."

"Too bad, those are the rules," Michael said.

The discussion was quickly turning into a debate, leaving Jack a little lost and bored as he glanced at the cameras. Something felt wrong to him, but he wasn’t sure what it could be or even if he should tell anyone.

  
  
  



	16. Boiling Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure you haven't skipped any chapters. I posted two yesterday and like 5 since last Thursday, so you might wanna make sure you're on the right chapter before preceding.

The other monitors on the wall showed different recordings and a live feed of two different cells. They seemed decent, even if they only contained four walls, a metal toilet with no lid and a shower. A blanket was bundled in the corner of Adam's cell but Joel's cell had nothing.  
Both were sitting in the corner of their rooms, utterly calm.  
The others were still debating, but Jack was trying to figure out why his skin was suddenly crawling with unease.  
And then there was Miles.  
He could see him out of the corner of his eye, constantly glancing at the minutes. The man seemed nice, but the longer they talked the tenser he got, even though Jack couldn't guess any reasons for him to be so invested.  
Then again, Jack had PTSD according to Geoff.  
They were soon being turned away from the cells. Jack glanced one last time between Miles and the monitors, before heading back towards the elevator.  
It was twice as jarring to go down an elevator without buttons than it had been to go up.  
"We'll go through a drive thru and eat on the road," Geoff decided as they reached the Granger. "I wanna come back tomorrow.”  
Ray shot a smile at Jack. “At least this means that we have more time for our date.”  
“Or we could spend time all together now,” Gavin pouted.  
“Are you jealous of Ray?” Geoff cackled as Michael gave Gavin a fake pitying look. “Poor Gavvy Wavvy.”  
“I’ll just go out with him the night after tomorrow,” Gavin tried to sound nonchalant and failed miserably.  
“Sure,” Jack cut in, glancing back to shoot Gavin a smile. “I’d love to go on a date.”  
The man had to turn back to the road, but he could glance back in the rearview mirror to appreciate Gavin’s blush.  
“We won’t go on a date,” Michael said from his spot right behind Jack. “Instead we’ll just lock ourselves in a bedroom and not come out for two days.”  
“Can I join that date?” Ryan said. “It sounds like it would be memorable.”  
“Sure, but only because that means Jack won’t be able to even think afterwards,” The redhead purred, reaching around Jack’s seat to stroke his arm.  
“Hey,” Jack pulled away, knowing he was turning red. “I’m driving.”  
The guys all laughed, even Jack chuckling once he got over the first burst of arousal.  
The rest of the drive continued on like that, with flirting and general lightheartedness. Jack enjoyed every moment, especially as they drew closer to the house.  
Michael was the first out of the truck, helping Ray make a quick exit so that the puerto rican could open Jack’s door. The youngest man held out a hand like a gentleman helping a lady out of a carriage. Jack took it with a snort, enjoying the excuse to hold Ray’s hand more than the gesture.  
“I will have everything ready in ten minutes,” Ray said, looking at him in exaggerated hope. “Meet me here, my love?”  
“Sure,” Jack tried not to flush again, but failed.  
Ray gave him a cocky grin, obviously catching it, but then went inside to get ready.  
The others were slowly pulling out of the car so Jack followed Ray inside. He went to the bathroom to freshen up a little, frowning a little at the sight of his stubble. His beard would look even worse soon, until his face grew in enough to blend in with what Griffon had left. Until it was even, he was going to look like a hobo or a hippie, and he wasn’t sure what was a worse look for first dates.  
Still, he tried to fix his hair and brushed his teeth. His clothes were still new and pristine, and he didn’t own much else at the moment to change into.  
When he met Ray, the man was waiting in his little bifta, a rose waiting on Jack’s seat. “Hop in.”  
“Where did you get a rose so quick?” Jack asked, climbing in and sniffing the flower. It was real and it was freshly cut, fluttering in the wind as Ray drove them along the shoreline.  
“I have my ways.”  
It wasn’t long before they were approaching a familiar landmark, and Jack chuckled. “Pleasure Pier?”  
“Hey, nothing says romance like the Ferris Whale,” Ray pointed out. “Come on, some of these stupid little games are fun.”  
They were fun. The rollercoaster was far from exciting and the ferris whale buckets were anything but romantic, but it was nice, just fooling around for the day. Ray’s sense of rumor was self deprecating at times, but he laughed about everything and actually managed to win them a few stupid stuffed toys, though they never kept them.  
The sun was setting when they finally headed back towards the bifta and Ray’ smile was warm. “Let's go get ice cream before heading back,” Ray suggested.  
Jack nodded, “That sounds great.”  
They would both be going home to the same place, and would be able to continue joking and having fun when they were there, but suddenly Jack didn’t want the date to end. He wanted this, wanted the chance to connect to Ray alone. He wanted to connect with the others like that too, to find out who they were beyond guns and danger and video games. He wanted to just be two people in love sometimes, not because he didn’t want to be part of a large relationship like theirs, but because he wanted every link between him and the others to be stronger.  
He wanted to really know everyone.  
The Ray’s phone rang before they could reach the ice cream shop. Jack could barely hear it over the wind and engine and by the time Ray had a chance to fish it out of his pocket the person on the other line had hung up. The traffic was bad, the two caught in the tail end of the evening rush hour.  
It started ringing again and Ray tossed it to Jack. “Answer it.”  
“Who is it?” Jack frowned at the string of numbers on the screen.  
“I don’t know. But I can’t drive and talk in this thing and the last thing I wanna do is interrupt the cyber searches for Inside Demos just to get rid of a traffic ticket.”  
Jack nodded, hitting the reply button. “Hello, Ray’s phone.”  
“Who is this?” A woman said on the other line. “Shit. Who is this? Is Ray there?”  
“He’s driving,” Jack said, glancing at Ray. “Who is this?”  
“It's Lindsay,” The woman said. “Oh… Shit…” There was gunfire. “Tell him we’re pinned down by the bowling alley on Sussex.There's a sniper.”  
The line went dead, and Jack turned to Ray. “It was a woman named Lindsay. She said she was pinned down by a sniper on Sussex.”  
“Lindsay?” Ray’s hands jolted the wheel. “Shit. Lindsay? Lindsay’s alive? Call Michael. Call Geoff. We have to help her.”  
“Who is Lindsay?” Jack said, already putting Ray’s phone down in lieu of using his own. He didn’t know Ray’s password yet.  
“One of the heads of RWBY. We couldn’t find her body but we all figured she had died in the raid,” Ray was already changing lanes, now headed towards the countryside.  
“Should you drop me off somewhere?” Jack asked. “This sounds dangerous.”  
“On the contrary, I’m going to get you to drop me off,” Ray said. “Then you’re heading straight for the house.”  
Jack frowned, but the phone was already ringing for a call to Geoff.  
“Did you miss me already?” The older man asked in greeting, voice a purr.  
“We just got a call from someone claiming to be Lindsay,” Jack repeated. “It sounded like she was in trouble on Sussex Dr near the bowling alley.”  
“Shit… We’ll be there in just a few minutes. Don’t let Ray do anything stupid until we get there… And don’t get too close to whatever's going on. You don’t want to get involved in dangerous shit like this.”  
“I already am,” Jack pointed out. “I’m soulmates to five of the biggest badasses in America.”  
“Aww. You’re making me blush,” Geoff said. “Still, keep your head down and try not to get shot. I’d hate to have to put off sex even more so you can get better.”  
“That was romantic,” The man managed to say dryly, even though he knew he was smiling like an idiot. “I’ll see you in a bit.”  
Ray gave him a look when he hung up, but neither said a word until they were approaching Sussex. Ray pulled up to a gas station, making it look like they were just refilling the tank. He passed Jack a card. “Here, the pin is 7010. Gas up, buy a snack, then head home.” He kissed him softly, then reached into the back to pull out his gun.  
“You should wait for the others,” Jack pointed out.  
“Lindsay is Michael’s friend,” Ray said. “Like, best friend, I’m surprised they don’t have matching bracelets or something. If either of them had been straight they would be married by now. I can’t just sit and wait when she could need help now.”  
“Geoff can’t be that far off,” Jack pointed out. “The house is close to here-”  
“Geoff is injured,” Ray started to walk away. “He’s hiding it well, but he shouldn’t be running around popping stitches.”  
Jack felt like he was swallowing down a jagged rock as the other man ducked into an alleyway, leaving his sight.  
The bifta’s tank was already nearly full, and Jack didn’t have the stomach for anything anymore, settling instead on a cheap bottle of water and a pack of gum before going back to the car.  
It felt hollow, sitting inside the Bifta without Ray cracking jokes by his side. The winds were colder as he started to drive, and all he could think about was Ray being left behind back there in what could be a trap.  
Jack let out a hiss then made a sharp turn, heading straight for the fray as his heart thundered in his chest.  
Sussex street was surprisingly void of life, not even occupied by empty cars or overgrown bushes. The only hint of color was Ray’s hoody and gun, the rifle laying several feet out of reach as the puerto rican laid flat on the ground, pinned down by two strangers.  
Jack didn’t think about it. He just pressed down on the accelerator and then the brakes, skidding to a stop just feet away from the group. He grabbed Ray’s pink gun off the ground and held it in surprisingly steady hands as he pointed it at the two women. “Put him down.”  
“Who are you?” The blonde frowned, her pretty face ruined by a still bleeding gash across her eyebrow.  
The redhead kept her gun on Ray as well as a grip on his arm. She was sturdier built, but just as pretty, her hair an unnatural shade of red. “Buzz off, asshole.”  
Ray was silent, staying still in their grip. His glasses were missing, and he had several bruises. The only look he shot Jack was a quick silent plea for Jack to go.  
“No. I won’t.”  
“The safety is still on,” The blonde said, looking disgusted as she eyed Jack up and down. A moment later she was pulling out a pistol, shooting out the tires of the bifta with two well aimed shots.  
“Seriously though, who is this idiot?” The redhead glanced at her partner. “Barb-”  
“No fucking way,” The woman said. “Is he seriously someone? I just thought he was some wannabe hero. This idiot here is already dead, and you will be too in a moment if you aren’t careful.”  
Jack didn’t put down the gun, needing something to hold onto even if he wasn’t sure where the safety latch was or even if he would have the chance to look for it. “You don’t need to kill us. Think about what you’re doing. You’re RWBY right. You’re allies. One of you is best friends with Michael.”  
The redhead looked a little strained at the mention of her fellow redhead, but the blonde shook her head. “You haven’t figured it out yet? Are you a new recruit or something? I didn’t realize you were hiring fast food managers.”  
“Huh. He kinda does look like one now that you mention it,” Gavin stepped forward out of the shadows. “Good evening ladies, I regret to inform you I don’t have a safety switch on this gun.”  
“Gavin…” Ray breathed out a little in relief.”  
“Barbara….” Lindsay started to say warningly.  
“No,” The blonde shook her head. “Gavin wouldn’t be the one approaching if someone actually dangerous was in the area. I say we still do it.”  
Gavin held up his gun, but there was the sound of a car engine revving behind Jack.  
He glanced back, expecting the calvary.  
Instead he got a view of Bruce’s Mustang and three gun barrells.  
“Good evening Jack.”  
It took him a moment to realize none of the guns were aimed at him. Instead, all were aimed at the women, with Peake stepping out of the shadows behind the ladies holding a shotgun.  
“I suggest you give up,” Peake said in his usual quiet tone.  
Barbara lashed out, her heeled shoe batting away his gun before he could fire. “Lindsay-”  
“Right behind you.”  
The two women dashed into the nearest building, using Ray as a meatshield before they just dropped him at the door, deadbolting themselves inside.  
“I hope you appreciate us breaking our cover to rescue your sorry ass,” Lawrence drawled from the backseat of the car. The door opened and he stepped out, followed by Spoole and Adam Kovic. “We’ve been tracking those bitches down for days.”  
“Alright,” Gavin was the first to speak. “I’m confused now.”  
There was a loud sound suddenly in the area, so sudden and jarring that it took Jack a moment to recognize the sound. “A helicopter?”  
A moment later a blue and white news copter was rising from the building the women had disappeared into, ensuring that Jack now lost whatever sense of calm he had maintained before.

Geoff arrived three minutes too late to see the women flying off into the wilderness, but there was a tense moment at first when the other three men arrived and tried to figure out how to react to the sight of the wanted group Inside Demos sitting around with a roughed up, half blind Ray leaning into Jack's arms, and a happily chatting Gavin, the brit lazily gesturing with his gun as he consulted with the others on the wonders of slow motion photography.  
“Is…. Is everything alright?” Geoff managed after a moment.  
Gavin nodded. “You won’t believe it. Things are-” His eyes landed on Michael and his expression dropped. The usually angry man looked like he was starting to relax, just a little exasperated as if it was something he should have expected to see: his mates winning over the fugitive rulebreakers.  
“RWBY were the ones taking out the other crews,” Ray was the one to break the silence, either unable to see the other’s unease, or knowing that it needed to be said regardless. “Lindsay and Barbara tried to kill us.”  
“What?” Michael’s expression changed in a moment. “No. That's not right. That can’t be right. It was Joel and Adam and these fuckers.”  
“No,” Joel Rubin stepped forward, shaking his head. “We’ve been trying to stop them. Joel formed us to stop the murders.”  
“You’ve been the ones killing everyone,” Michael said. “I’ve seen the maps. You’ve been there for every hit.”  
“No we haven’t,” Bruce said. “We only formed two years ago, when the crew killing was brought to MJ-.. To Caboose’s attention. You can check if you want.”  
Ryan stepped forward. “So RWBY was the one doing everything?”  
“Key word: was,” James smirked. “We managed to mop up most of them already, these were the only two left to get.”  
Jack glanced over at Geoff. “Could that be true?”  
“Lindsay and Barbara really tried to kill you?” Ryan asked Ray instead.  
“Yes,” Ray said. “It was a trap. No one else was here. They just wanted to lure us here.”  
“Motherfucker,” Geoff said. “You assholes stay here. I need to call Gus.” He turned to Ryan, seeming to silently command him to do something. Ryan’s eyes darted to Geoff’s side, where the wound was still hidden.  
“I’ll stay here,” Michael announced. “Ryan, get the others home.”  
Ray’s Bifta couldn’t run and Geoff and the others had shown up in an armoured car, meaning they were leaving the other two with no means of escape if things went bad. Ray and Gavin sat in the back with Jack, the three cuddling close even as Ryan turned on the heating.  
“Michael is taking things badly,” Gavin said softly. “I hope he doesn’t do anything stupid.”  
“We’re all here for him,” Ryan said firmly from the front. “He will be fine.”  
Jack’s gut churned, “So if Joel wasn’t the one organizing the gang killings… was he really the one who tried to have me killed?”  
Gavin turned pale. “They were there too. They were there at the conference. They heard me say your name.”  
“Barbara knew Blaine too,” Ryan said. “There's rumors that her and Aaron were lovers.”  
“Lovers? But she has Lindsay,” Jack said. “They’re soulmates right?”  
“That means different things for different people. Aaron had Blaine, Barbara has Lindsay…” Gavin said.  
“Wait! Fuck…” Jack breathed out. “So what you’re telling me is that it's possible for two years they managed to hide their actions and frame another gang so terribly that you have locked up the wrong guys.”  
“Geoff will be able to fix this,” Gavin said. “If Inside Demos really are as good as they say, they really did cripple RWBY. This could have an easy fix, no harm no fowl.”  
Jack doubted things could be that easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *evil cackles*


	17. Iced

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this chapter isn't in a Ot6 POV and I don't care, I love it.
> 
> Make sure you haven't skipped any chapters. :)

Adam Ellis had not realized he was different until he was 13.  
Before that, he had fit in effortlessly with his classmates. Before that, none of his friends had any interest in things beyond skateboards and sports and the only posters they had up in their rooms were for bands, sports teams and Tony Hawk.  
Adam's walls were no different and he thought nothing of them. He never looked at the people in them and wanted to touch them. He wanted to meet them, he would die of excitement if he got to play with any of them, but he never really felt the urge to admire their esthetics.  
He did not even think about it until the day one of his friends noticed one of his posters near his bed had a female singer, dressed provocatively as she screamed into a mike.  
Later he could never remember his friends name, childhood friends fading from his mind as he started a life of crime.  
But he remembered the look of inspiration on his friend's face. "She's hot."  
"Yeah," Adam knew she was, knew it was some selling feature. "I guess so?"  
"You guess?" His friend laughed. "So you don't look at her at night? You don't want that? Are you gay?"  
Adam frowned, not sure if he was gay or straight. He liked to look at the men in his posters more, but only because they were more straightforward to him. They weren't in awkward poses, their clothes weren't too small and too tight, men in the posters looked confident and comfortable.  
But he didn't feel a stirring for them either. He didn't feel a stirring towards any of it.  
"Oh shit you are?!" His friend's face was wide open in shock.  
And Adam just nodded, knowing he had hesitated too long to try and brush it all off. He took the convenient excuse, and was lucky that even though his classmates were soon gossiping about it, none of them really seemed to care what he was, as long as they knew what he wanted in a partner.  
It was a shame he had no idea what he wanted.  
He masturbated sometimes, but it was more about the pleasure and the exploration for him than trying to picture someone touching him. He couldn't imagine anyone else touching him, saw no appeal in seeing naked people and when he did look up porn, it all felt wrong.  
He tried to bring it up once on a chat room in the early days of the Internet. The general consensus when they stopped laughing at him was that he just needed to find his soulmate. He was just too loyal, he was just too attuned to his bond.  
So he waited. He waited and hated that while all his friends seemed to become obsessed with the idea of sticking their dicks in someone, the most he could ever wish for was just for someone who would stick to his side through thick and thin. He wanted someone to hold, but not to see naked, not to make out with.  
He wondered why he had been born wrong. He wondered if the bond would fix things. He wondered if he found his soulmate and they couldn't fix him if he should continue the lie. If he never loved them back in the same way they loved him was that wrong.  
He ended up changing friends a little when he reached high school. It was a bigger school and as people grew older, they grew more confident and started to tell people if they were gay or bi or trans or anything else. The LGBTQ community embraced Adam seemingly without effort on his part. He'd been 'out' for years, and so he became a figurehead of sorts. He never tried to act gay or straight, never did the fumbling attempts at flirting that his classmates almost all failed at and he was nice. He became popular in a way, even as he avoided parties and dances.  
His aloofness seemed a selling feature to many guys, and even some girls. He was asked out a few times, even had someone try to insist they had to be soulmates.  
He was dragged to his first gay club when he was 17. It was everything he didn't want. There was glitter everywhere, half naked grinding, and loud pop music. His ass was slapped repeatedly and he just tried to blend into the shadows.  
A drunk spilt her vodka on him, adding to his stress as he has to leave his hiding space at the table and go to the bathroom. There was only one man inside, using the urinal, and so Adam decided to tug his jacket and sweater off, standing in his shirt with his arm bare to the world as he tried to wash his clothes in the hopes he wouldn't smell like liquor when he got home.  
"You're trouble?" The other man in the bathroom read his arm, quirking a blonde eyebrow up in amusement.  
"It's rude to read another person's soulmark, especially aloud," Adam grumbled, wondering if he should really soak a leather coat in a bathroom sink.  
"Sorry," the man came up behind Adam, a little too close as he pulled up his own sleeve. "I was just hoping you'd say that, I'm Jaune." There was Adam's words staring back at him.her  
Adam's worst fears were true.  
He never felt any sexual attraction to Jaune. He never felt it towards anyone.

Sitting in the cell, Adam had little else to do but dwell on the past. There was nothing there for him to do, and if he thought too hard about what was going on outside he would go mad with worry. If he thought about the fact Joel had willingly surrendered to save him he'd go mad with guilt.  
So he remembered the recently dredged up past. He remembered those nights he had given himself over to Jaune. The feelings of awkward disgust and unease he had gotten whenever they did anything. He has tried for over a year, even moving in with the other man and sharing a room.  
He knew from the start when Jaune started cheating on him.  
Something in him said he shouldn't be upset about it, that he wouldn't have to sleep with Jaune as often if the other man was satisfied elsewhere. If Jaune had brought it up in advance, had asked Adam about it, the bearded man would have gladly given permission for him to make their relationship open. But instead he was just left upset at the deception. It was something Jaune did never intending on letting Adam know. Even now, years after Jaune's death, years after he learned he did not love Jaune, the memory caused him pain.  
He had turned to the Internet for advice. He had been looking for a councillor or something at first, someone who could help them through this.  
He seen the world asexuallity for the first time in a list of specialities on a therapist's website. He did a quick Google search of the word and finally learned that he wasn't a freak, that other people felt the same way he did.  
He left Jaune a week later, never intending to return. Jaune called him frigid, Jaune called him a cold prudish bitch and tried to say it was Adam's fault he strayed.  
Adam didn't bother to argue back. Just smiled and packed his bags, too relieved to have figured himself out to feel upset about the words.

In the present, Adam was brought out of his musings by the creaking of his door. He shot up to his feet immediately, a little confused.  
When they had been captured, only Lindsay, Barbara, and Aaron had been left, and he doubted the widower was going to be alive for long. He was going to do something stupid and get himself killed on his quest for revenge. The guys, Inside Demos, would have a chance of just taking down Lindsay and Barbara, but only if they weren't hunted down by RT first and if they were careful about timing the attack.  
And then the most they could hope for was that the seven would be able to disappear like the mist. With Joel free they could have found a way to prove their innocence.  
The man opening Adam's door was familiar, small grin too innocent for his cold eyes. He left the door open a crack.  
"So you're the famous Adam," He spoke and Adam's gut churned. He glanced up, seeing traces of his dead soulmate in the man's features. He couldn't be Jaune, Jaune was dead.  
"Miles," Adam realized with a frown. "You're Miles Luna."  
It was Jaune's brother.

The first thing Adam had done after leaving was tattoo over his mark, covering it with black roses and enjoying flaunting his new mark. He would never go back to Jaune, he was dead to him, and now that people thought he was a widower, no one bothered him about sex or romance anymore. He got a shitty job at a warehouse, a decent apartment, and spent half his time at the local shelter, dreaming of owning a nicer place and getting a cat.  
Adam saved up a 50% down payment for his car, knowing he was now just 18, straight out of highschool and working a manual job. It meant his car payments would be manageably low, and since he was buying a new car the warranty would cover any issues the car might end up with until he could build himself up a little more and have a better rainy day fund.  
His car loan was declined.  
He was perplexed, knowing that he had never owned a credit card before, but hoping that since it was such a small loan and he had a 50% down payment, they would overlook it. If he had gotten a credit card recently, it would have just fuddled up his score more.  
He ordered a free credit report, kept taking the bus everywhere, and tried not to mope when his favorite cat was adopted out.  
His credit score was a mess.  
In the months since he had left Jaune, it seemed like the man had taken revenge using Adam’s identity. Three maxed out credit cards, a car loan for $70,000, and the purchase of two jet skis had put him over $100,000 in debt. All of it was from the day after he left and none of it had been paid off at all, making his credit history a fucking mess.  
He turned to the internet, called a financial help line, called the cops, but without proof that it wasn’t him doing the purchasing there wasn’t much he could do. None of them believed him in the first place.  
Then came the phone calls. The never ending pizza deliveries, the sex ads taken out with his number and address.  
He changed addresses, he changed numbers. The new place was shitty and it was small, but the security was better and he didn't have the pizza companies trying to hunt him down and charge him for wasted pizzas he refused to take.  
The next shift he was scheduled to work, his boss stopped him at the door.  
"I'm sorry Adam, we have to let you go."  
Adam didn't have it in him to be angry at the scared looking man, he just took his things and left.  
Come back home had been spray painted onto his living room wall when he got to the apartment. In the center of it all was a new framed picture of Jaune lounging on a couch, a familiar cat on his lap.  
Adam wasn't going to ever be able to fight Jaune legally. The man was part of some big crime group, was untouchable by the cops, and Adam had no idea how he could ever try to get involved with them.

In the cell, Adam was now too deep into the crime world, not even blinking as Miles pulled a gun. “You know who I am. Good. Then you know why I’m doing this.”  
“Because he was your blood?” Adam rose an eyebrow. “You’re gunna execute me like this, end up on the wrong side of Burnie’s temper, and all because of a dead selfish asshole.”  
“He was my brother,” Miles growled. “He was my brother and you and your pet psycho killed him.”  
Adam shrugged “He left us no choice.”  
“And you’ve left me with none either.”  
“Actually, there is plenty of choices,” A woman said, pulling the door open the rest of the way. It was Ashley, one of Risemonger’s Diddlefingers.  
And goddamn was that crew hard to take seriously, even after all these years.  
The blonde stepped in, dressed to kill. Her dark blonde hair was tied back in a braid. Behind her was Meg, another Diddlefinger, and Brandon, one of the RT guards. Brandon looked nervous though, and was reaching for his Radio, not his gun.  
Adam focused back on Miles, trying to form a plan. If the ladies were there that meant their plan had worked, and ahead was either a quick death, or freedom.

The bus ride towards Jaune's house had been terrifying.  
It was early enough that not even the daily commuters were up, the only riders being people fresh off night shifts and people who were probably homeless. Still, Adam was just giving into the only option he had, and he just wanted to get things over with.  
He clutched his bag tightly, frowning at his lap and realizing he had never felt so alone.  
It was a little ironic that when he did enter the house, it was to hear muffled groans from the bedroom.  
He saw no sign of the cat, and he was afraid of asking. He would rather not know if Jaune had been enough of an asshole to kill him or dump him on the side of the road.  
The groans continued, and he decided at least to meet the man who Jaune had been sleeping with. He pulled his recent purchase out of his bag, taking it with him.  
He hadn't expected to walk in on Jaune grappling with a madman.  
The stranger had a knife and was trying to pin Jaune to the ground. A half naked man was already dead on the ground, and a quick glance confirmed it to be Ren. That made sense, that he was the one with Jaune.  
The stranger had noticed Adam step in, freezing a little in surprise.  
Jaune wiggled free enough to call out. "Adam! Adam, please, help me. He's trying to kill me." He must have realized Adam wasn't inclined to help. "I'm your soulmate. Help me."  
Adam just lifted his recently purchased gun and shot Jaune in the forehead.

Miles didn't seem like he was going to back down.  
Audience or no audience, he had his gun pointed at Adam, clearly getting ready to use it.  
"What are you doing, Miles?" Brandon spoke up, "We're not supposed to break into cells and try to murder prisoners."  
"I don't care," Miles said, cocking the pistol. "This is personal. I don't care if I die doing it."  
"Good," Meg pulled Brandon's gun, shooting Miles right in the arm.  
The man cried out in pain, clutching his shattered forearm. His gun had dropped to the floor, utterly useless.  
"What the fuck is going on here?" Burnie finally arrived, flanked by Gus and some beefy armed guy.

The thin stranger had looked between Adam and Jaune's corpse, before dropping the dead blonde and approaching Adam.  
"Are you going to kill me too?" The bearded man asked, gripping the gun by the barrel to pass it over.  
"You're trouble," The man said with a faint smile, his dead eyes not showing any emotions.  
And Adam nearly glanced down at his arm, nearly glanced at the mark that was now covered up. In that moment, he decided he didn't care. He didn't care about soulmates anymore, he didn't care about the dead bodies cluttering up the bedroom.  
All he wanted was to follow this man.  
"I'm Adam," He said, a little dumbly.  
"Joel." The other man didn't protest when Adam followed him out of the house.  
Adam never stopped following.

"Seriously," Burnie frowned, glancing between Miles, Adam and the ladies. "You, blondie, why the hell is my guard shot?"  
"Hey, I was just protecting my boss's property," She said, eyes sparkling suddenly with mischief. "Mainly, the life of his prisoner."  
Gus swore under his breath, but the main spectacle was Burnie stumbling over thin air.  
A moment later, he was glancing at Ashley in what had to be awe, and Adam sighed, recognizing the signs of two soulmates meeting for the first time.

"So," Adam said, lifting the bag of cash out of the trunk. "Explain why we're doing this again."  
He'd only been following Joel for half a year, but already they were...  
He wasn't sure what to call them. No one seemed to know what to call them. They were just Joel and Adam, Adam and Joel. They weren't soulmates, but they cared about each other. Neither had any interest in sex with anyone, but they often ended up holding each other through the night. Neither ever spoke of feelings, but Joel trusted Adam, and Adam wondered sometimes if Joel was his real soulmate. If the bond was set up to give them both what they needed. Joel needed someone to support him, and Adam needed to love without worrying about leaving his partner unsatisfied.  
In the years to come, he would come to realize Joel loved him back.  
"Look, if there's one thing I know, it's that in the end everything can and will go wrong," Joel said, leading him up to the doors of the Risemongers mansion. "Always have an escape plan."  
"How is this an escape plan?" Adam asked, "And why not just fess up to the murder of Jaune if you can pay the fines for doing it."  
"It's more than just fines," Joel said. "But the Risemonger owes me. One day, if we ever accidentally end up on the wrong side of Burnie and Gus, this will be our ticket out."  
"How is that?" Adam asked, reaching for the knocker.  
"If we fess up to Jaune's death in custody, by their laws our fate will be in Risenger's hands," Joel smirked. "We will be able to have him take us and depending on how things are, he can set us free or he can give us a quick death."

The moment between Burnie and Ashley was interrupted by the ringing of a phone. The almost-head of RT snapped out of his funk, pulling a phone from his pocket and nodding at the burly man to stand down.  
"What is it, Geoff, this better be important."  
Judging by Burnie's next expression it was.


	18. Haus Blend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of the end
> 
> Make sure you haven't skipped any chapters :)

It was bizarre to return to the Tower of Pimps and enter a conference room to see Joel and Adam free. There was a floppy haired man beside them, showing them photos on a tablet screen of two kids. A purple haired woman was on the other side of him, and she waved at either Ryan or Gavin as they stepped in  
"That's Jon Risinger," Ray murmured. "The ladies are part of his crew, the Diddlefingers."  
Inside Demos were there as well, minus Adam Kovic.  
Joel Rubin caught sight of them and waved. "Jack, it's great to see you."  
This drew the attention of the other Joel and suddenly the man was standing, making his way over to Jack with a pleased smile. "And here is the happy family."  
Adam, Cardin, whoever his name was stood to follow Joel. His face was still a mess, but it had been cleaned up better and he had tighter stitches. His eyes were glued to Michael's, obviously knowing he was going to be the first to snap if Joel tried something.  
"Joel," Jack said, clearing his throat. "I've gotta say, you did too good of a job convincing us you did it."  
"I agree," Geoff said. "What the fuck dude?"  
"You suspected me from the start," Joel shrugged, "And no one would believe it was sweet team RWBY doing it instead of the madman and his guard dog.  
"So you did it in secret?" Ryan frowned.  
"We got things done. If you guys hadn't been involved, we'd have them all by now," Adam cut in. "Inside Demos-"  
"Okay. Sorry, I have to interrupt," Gus cut in. "It's bad enough that we have to deal with Risinger and his Diddlefingers. You're not calling your crew Inside Demos. It sounds like a shitty gaming company."  
"We'll come up with something better than," Joel Rubin stepped up.  
"Why did you take Jack then?" Geoff cut in. "Why did you act like a creep?"  
"Hey, I had no idea who he was until he was here," Joel said. "I was going to try and hide him away for you."  
"He got away for a minute and ran straight into Aaron Marquis," Adam said. "We couldn't leave him around with that idiot hunting him. So we did the world's sloppiest kidnapping and waited for RT to come rescue him."  
"And all that threatening stuff?" Jack said. "That creepy stuff you said about Blaine?"  
"You needed encouragement to stick with your sloppy mates," Joel gave him a smile utterly devoid of humor or happiness.  
Burnie arrived with a pretty blonde, a light flush over the tops of his cheeks.  
"Alright boys and girls. Recess is over. Let's get back to business."

They had a plan now.  
It was strange for Jack, looking around and seeing everyone coming together like some strange thinktank. His old coworkers were ruthless strategists, Joel and Adam seemed to know a hundred times more than anyone else, the two female Diddlefingers were good at cutting through everyone’s crap and just saying what people needed to know and his lovers just absorbed it all and then nodded. “We’ll be in the frontlines then, since those guys have already done the rest.”  
Michael seemed leery of them, and Spoole and Gavin had been making faces at each other the whole time, sizing each other up as the strangest members of the group.  
“You know, when I learned Jack had a harem, I was picturing more MC Hammer pants,” Bruce said insightfully as people began to stand, making Jack wonder if there was a certain correlation between IQ and criminal activity.  
“Funny, when we heard he worked with seven dudes, we were picturing the ones from Snow White,” Ray said. “Are you Grumpy or Doc?”  
“He’d be sneezy. But the sneezes are actually farts,” James cut in. “Look, Fake AH Crew, we get you’re big league and we’re newcomers, you’re soulmates and we’re kinda more like his old frat house or something, but we’d like to keep up our friendship with Jack if he’ll let us.”  
Jack didn’t last a moment. “I wouldn’t call it a frathouse. Frat houses have standards and less geeky references. But sure.”  
“A Funhaus then,” Peake said in his usual quiet voice.  
“I’d recommend you keep Jack out of this,” Joel Heyman said, interrupting things. “You know he’d be the most obvious target in all this.”  
“They may have figured out who he is,” Adam nodded. “And more importantly, who Jacklyn wasn’t.”  
Michael nodded, grabbing onto Jack’s arm and leading him out.  
For the first time, Jack realized the man hadn’t spoken the whole time.  
The others followed, all piling up into the Granger. There was a little scuffle over who would get to sit in front, before Geoff just claimed it for his own.  
The crews were working in teams to look for hints as to where the ladies were hiding, with the Fake AH-ers starting theirs at dawn. Jack felt a little anxious as they pulled out onto the highway again.  
“So are you guys going to try and keep me out of this?”  
“Joel has a point,” Ryan said softly. “You’re the easiest target, especially if you go unarmed. We could put you with Ray again, but that just means that if we end up inside, he will just have to wait outside with you instead of helping us.”  
“But leaving me at home wouldn’t be smart either,” Jack tried, hands clutching the steering wheel. “If they’re that good at hunting and tracking they’ll know where our safe house is. They’ll know where I am hiding.”  
“Then you’ll hide with Burnie or Gus,” Geoff said firmly. “Maybe you can convince them to let you drive them around the area, that way you can be nearby if we need your driving skills.”  
“I could always try to run them down,” He pointed out jokingly, but he could see a blonde head perk up in the back.  
“That would be top,” Gavin said. “We should give you a vehicle with a nasty bumper, so they’d shred on impact.”  
“Like something from Death Race?” Jack asked. “I’m not sure that would be healthy for the vehicle.”  
The british man burst into laugher. “There you go again. You sound like Ryan and now you sound like Ryan.”  
“That made no fucking sense,” Michael said, turning to Gavin in frustration. Still, it was nice to see some sort of emotion coming from their fiery lover. No one stopped Gavin from stumbling through the conversation, each a little relieved to see Michael perking up again. Gavin was either being particularly stupid or was egging him on as well.

When they got to the safehouse, it was only to pack things up and move again. Jack hadn’t really accumulated much to bring to begin with, so he just stuffed his stuff into a bag then tried helping the others by bringing everything out to the car.  
The next safe house was a two floor condo, with massive windows and a dated interior. The furniture and electronics were all new but there was sponge paint in one of the bedrooms and damask wallpaper in the other, the kitchen having a few leftover ivy stencils still kicking around along the edges of the counters.  
It was big and it was clean though, and Jack did not hesitate to go sprawl on the big white couch, a little amused that it was the same one as in their old penthouse.  
Gavin was soon climbing into his lap for a snuggle, not caring how awkward it was as his legs went everywhere. Ray was there a moment later to add to the pile, and as Jack shifted to make room he ended up wedged into the corner of the sectional, two warm bodies pressing him in.  
Gavin turned on an old action movie, while the others seemed to have a conversation in the kitchen.  
It was Michael who came over next, climbing onto Jack so he could give chaste kisses to each of them. "We're going to go stock up on guns and stuff."  
"Get me some bullets," Ray said. "The good ones."  
"Alright," Michael nodded and Jack leaned up to steal a kiss, not liking the downturn of his lips or how low his eyebrows were.  
"Come on, lover boy," Geoff said, grabbing a coat. "We'll only be gone an hour or two."  
The three left, and Jack just relaxed into the couch. Ray was still bruised up, but he seemed fine and he already had new glasses on his face. Gavin was squirmy, fingers drumming a rhythm into Jack's chest.  
There was a sudden sex scene, the swarmy hero facing the beautiful mercenary.  
"You're good with that gun," He said in a terrible attempt at seduction. His eyes roamed over her bizarrely tight outfit. "Wanna try holding mine?"  
The following sex scene was mostly breast shots and loud fake moans, but Ray took advantage, sitting up to face Jack. "Hey Jack... Wanna try holding my gun? It's nice and long."  
Jack laughed. "I already did, remember. It was too complicated and it didn't wanna work for me."  
"Oh..." Gavin said, turning and giving them both a very inspired look. "I'm sure we could give you some tips."  
"Just the tips?" Jack pulled them both in closer.  
Gavin kicked the ottoman away and Ray began to kiss him, hands roaming his skin. The snipers fingers were unevenly calloused and his glasses occasionally knocked into Jack's, but he tasted like cherries.  
It was Jack's first time fooling around with two people at once, his closest experience being when Geoff had joined in midway to just kiss him while Ryan did all the work.  
This time, it was Jack reaching for them, trying to get them both naked without breaking the kisses. Gavin helped, pulling off his own shirt and jeans before starting on Ray's. "Take your shirt off, love," he crooned into the youngest's ear before he nudged him out of the way to kiss Jack. Jack was kissing with his eyes open, drinking in the sight of bare skin and straining boxers.  
They ended up on the floor, the wood cold under their bare skin. Jack found himself on the bottom, Gavin bouncing on his lap and Ray in his mouth.  
By the time the others returned, they were basking in the afterglow, naked and sticky.  
Geoff let out a low whistle at the sight. "You guys kept yourselves busy."  
"Damn," Michael said, putting down a box of bullets on the counter.  
Jack just laughed, even as he tried to find his boxers. Geoff went over to kiss him hungrily, interrupting his search. "Tonight I think we're gunna do a nice sharing exercise."  
"Sharing?" Jack asked, shivering as Geoff squeezed his ass.  
"Spitroasting," The older man purred innocently, before pulling away and letting a flustered Jack find his boxers.  
His shirt was lost to Gavin, so Jack went to the bedroom to find a new one and went to the bathroom to clean up a little.  
Jack was the one to start supper, having seen the guys bring home a roast. The others all prepped the vegetables, every one of them more skilled with a knife then Jack could ever hope to be. Ryan was the best, cutting through rutabagas like they were made of butter.  
Jack was able to put together a peppercorn sauce, though it nearly was ruined when Gavin started to distract him with kisses.  
Geoff broke out the alcohol next, though they were all taking it easy, knowing the next morning would come too soon.  
Jack and a few of the others played a few levels on Cloudberry Kingdom, but it was obvious that everyone's mind was on other things.  
There were two showers, but it still took everyone a little while to clean up, Jack ignoring the fluttering in his stomach when he realized why everyone seemed intent to be clean as a whistle. He showered last, careful not to touch himself. He kept the water a little cold, not wanting to get too excited. He pulled on new boxers, tried to dry his hair a little, and then made his way to the bedroom.  
He was met with open arms and warm bodies. It wasn't perfect, in fact there was a few times where they had to stop and laugh. If the guys had figured out a method before for their 5-ways, it seemed to have been lost with the addition of a 6th relatively inexperienced person. Geoff was still healing as well, meaning there was once or twice where they had to move to accommodate his limited movement.  
But it was perfect to Jack.  
It was amazing, having everyone there. Some lasted longer than others, some seemed intent to have everyone one at a time. Geoff seemed to have a healthy voyeuristic streak and Gavin couldn't do oral in any form.  
Ray was the first to fall asleep, even as Gavin was gasping and moaning beside him. They all began to finish up then, remembering their early start the next morning. Jack was sore but happy, tangled in the center of the bodies.  
They would kill Lindsay and Barbara the next day. They would stop having to travel around then, and would have the rest of their lives together.  
They might learn how to balance out the sex, might learn how to avoid awkward pauses or unsure partners. But even if they never, Jack would never complain. It was all about the affection between them, about the wish to make each other feel good, and having a laughing fit because of a fumbled kiss or caress would never be a bad thing.  
He didn’t dream that night.  
He woke when Ryan got up, the killer surprisingly loathe to leave the bed.  
Jack got up with him, dressed in just his boxers and a shirt. He started on breakfast, keeping it relatively light with some eggs and toast. He also turned on the coffee pot, knowing some of them would need it.  
Geoff greeted him with a soft kiss, “I’ve got this, Jack. You should get dressed. Ashley and Meg are going to stick with you.”  
Jack nodded, going to dress. He picked a higher collar sweater, trying to hide the little love bruises, and marks the other five had left on his skin. Before he could dress, Ray came up behind him. He just clung to Jack, caramel arms wrapped around his pale stomach. He could see hints of his marks from this angle and he turned around so he could kiss them gently.  
Are you a fucking hacker or something?  
Nice gun.  
You shoot the guy on the left, I'll stab the guy on your right.  
That’s not a real name you minge, that's like if I asked if your name was Xray.  
Uhhh…. hi?

He couldn’t help but laugh as he looked at his own words. “I didn’t make a good first impression, did I?”  
“Nah. You came with food,” Ray said, kissing him. “The best meeting was Ryan’s though. He saved my ass.” He helped Jack dress, then let Jack return the favor.  
“We’ll get them,” Ryan said, coming over to join the two. “We’ll get the two of them today, and be back in time for supper. Then we’ll find a new normal and just relax.”  
“That sounds great,” Jack smiled.

At dawn, Michael kissed him goodbye. The redhead gripped him tightly, but not as tightly as Jack was holding him. They knew Michael wouldn’t get hurt, they knew they would both be alive at the end of the day.  
But Michael was going to have to kill his best friend. Michael was going to have to kill Lindsay, or watch someone else do it. Jack wasn’t sure how he was going to do it.  
Jack kissed him back passionately, as if he could overpower the pain and the sadness with his love. He knew it wouldn’t work. He knew that no matter what they did, Michael would hurt badly from this.  
“Be careful,” He murmured softly. “I love you.”  
“I know,” Michael said, managing a soft smile at the reference. He looked up at Jack for a moment, eyes swimming with so many emotions.

Geoff and Gavin didn’t seem to want big goodbyes. Instead they both went in for kisses, Geoff slipping in a quick grope. “See you later.”

Meg and Ashley were waiting in the parking lot in a little sporty car, both giving him a smile as he slipped into the car. “Come on, we want a full tour of the city.” Meg seemed friendly enough, and Jack idly remembered Gavin mentioning her a few times.  
They let him drive. And he didn’t miss the subtle hints to drive faster or cut past red lights. Still, he kept them within city limits and he didn’t drive as fast or as crazy as he could of, his mind on the five men out hunting for the last two psychopaths from RWBY.  
The ladies were a laugh though, and seemed to know a lot about entertainment news, able to discuss anything he could talk about. It turned out that Ashley was Burnie’s soulmate, but they were taking it slow, only having met two days before.  
“Congrats,” He said as they walked around the visitor center on mount chiliad.  
“We should say that to you,” Meg laughed. “You look like you’be been enjoying your mates a little too much.”

He wasn’t sure if it was a relief when at the end of the day, he hadn’t heard from the others. Meg and Ashley dropped him back off at the condo, with his mates waiting for him in the entrance to the building.  
Michael looked exhausted and stressed, like a wild animal in a cage. The others all looked fine, if a little concerned for the fiery man.  
“What happened?” Jack asked as Geoff went in for a kiss.  
“Nothing,” Geoff said with a weak laugh. “We can’t find them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Diddlefingers.


	19. Make tea not war

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure you never skipped chapters.  
> Also.... Do you guys remember that Character Death tag....?

“I think it's fucking obvious what we need to do,” Gus said, looking a little annoyed as they all met at the tower again. It had been a week since the hunt for Lindsay and Barbara had started, a week of odd shifts, constant vigilance, angry Michael, and just full on stress for everyone else. Ryan kept disappearing to kill people, Gavin was developing a hunchback from trying to find traces of them on the internet, Geoff would need a new liver soon, and Ray just seemed to keep to himself more.  
Jack was feeling stretched thin, trying to find ways to make things easier on the rest. He kept getting put into Meg and Ashley's hands, or on one awkward occasion, he spent the time with the newly named Funhaus, collecting all his favourite things from his old apartment and trying to figure out how to be friends with the people who had betrayed him.  
Gus pointed straight at Jack, “We need to use bait.”  
“Bait?” Geoff stood, trying to puff himself up a little as if he could scare any of them. Ryan stood with him after a moment though, and that’s when Gus nearly backed off. “Jack is a civilian and our mate, by your own rules he is to be kept safe.”  
“Calm down, Geoff. He’s involved now,” Burnie said. “Even if he wasn’t here, participating in a meeting, even if he never entered this member-only building, the man has been involved in two shootings, three if you include the getaway with Funhaus, and he is obviously going to be a driver for you guys in the future. And we need him.”  
“No. Fucking. Way.”  
“What would I need to do?” Jack asked.  
“Now, now, wait a minute,” Joel Heyman interrupted, “I’m with Geoff here. Jack’s a little useless in a fight and everyone would be a little upset if he got injured.”  
“We wouldn’t put him in a fight,” Gus said, giving them all scathing looks. “We’d let him do what he does best, zip around in a flashy car breaking laws. Make him an obvious target. It would draw Barbara out.”  
“How would it draw her out?” Ashley said. “They’ve been smart about it so far.”  
“Cause Jack killed Blaine,” The previously silent Risemonger said from his spot between the two ladies. “And according to most of the rumors, he may have killed Aaron too. She’d want revenge.”  
“Exactly,” Gus said.  
“No,” Geoff said. “We aren’t doing that.”

“We still aren’t doing this,” Ryan said as Jack ran his hands over a familiar green car. It was the exact one they’d gotten him two years before, something telling Jack they had tracked it down right after he’d sold it and bought it back. There was barely any miles on her and she was perfectly maintained.  
“I’ll be fine,” He said. “Everyone will have visual on me the whole time. I’ve got my earpiece in. There's trackers in the car, and in my clothes. The windows are bulletproof. They won’t get the chance to get to me.”  
“Fucking hell Jack,” Geoff shook his head. “None of that matters. They’re crazy, and crazy always finds a way.”  
“Well, I’m crazy about you guys,” He said, giving them a smile. “So I’ll find a way to stay alive.”

 

After a week of anxious goodbyes, Jack had thought it would be easier for him to leave. But it seemed that the guys were used to being the ones going off into danger.  
None of them seemed ready to accept that he was doing it, let alone ready to watch him go.  
Gavin was the only person to be in full support of it, though he did spend a little too long fiddling with Jack’s tech, as if afraid the three trackers and two radios would all fail. Jack resisted the urge to point out he had his cell on him.  
“I’ll see you in a bit,” Jack told him gently, kissing him once all the tech was in place.  
Gavin didn’t cling, but he was a little slow in releasing Jack, eyes betraying his worry.

Ray didn’t seem to want to talk about it, just acting like everything was normal. He kissed Jack like he needed him more than air though and his hands shook as he gripped Jack’s shirt. “I’ll be there,” He whispered as if Jack needed reassurance. “I’ll be there and ready to shot them down if they even look at you.’  
“I know,” Jack said. “We’ll have to do something to celebrate tonight.”  
“You mean beyond our usual 6-way?” Ray said. “Should I get the handcuffs?”  
Jack laughed, but kissed him softly again. “Lets try toys before we get into bondage.”

Michael was the hardest to face, only because Jack knew he would rather Lindsay remain hidden. Jack kissed him, but the other man brushed it off after just a moment. “No. I’m not doing this,” Michael said, voice bitter. “I’m not saying goodbye to you and you shouldn’t go.”  
“I have to,” Jack said, “I know… I know Lindsay was your friend, but we need to stop them.”  
“Why? Because they’ve killed people?” Michael hissed. “We’ve all killed people.”  
“They killed people who trusted them. They betrayed you,” Jack said. “They tried to kill Ray.”  
“Ryan would have done the same things if we let him,” Michael said. “Ryan would burn the whole world down if he wanted to.”  
“And if he did, he knows there would be consequences,” Jack’s voice went softer. “They must have known this was a possibility from the start. They did it anyways. If we let them live, even if they never do more other people might think they can get away with it too.”  
“I don’t care,” Michael pulled away. “I’m not letting Lindsay die.” 

Geoff was the only one in the garage when Jack slipped into his car. The man tapped on the window, making Jack roll it down so that Geoff could give him one last kiss. “Be safe. Stick to the plan.”  
Jack nodded, pulling out and making his way along the roads. He was going fast, especially as he reached the freeway, and with all the trackers lighting him up like a christmas tree to anyone paying attention he was the most obvious target known to man.  
“How’s the drive?” Joel Rubin asked over the radio, a little amused. “I think you’re making Lawrence a little jealous.”  
“I swear you’re like something out of the movies,” Lawrence said. “How do you do that stuff?”  
“He’s just that good,” Gavin said. “He gets a lot of experience handling gear shifts.”  
“Really Gavin?” Burnie said. “Lets try cut the chatter people. This is a professional line.”  
It was nerve wracking once he hit the dirt roads, circling the lake a few times before heading back into the boonies. He passed by his old Inside Demo’s apartment twice, and a few times pinged the attention of cops before Gus was able to call them off.  
By the time he was headed for the base of Mount Chiliad Jack stopped worrying about the two women appearing out of nowhere and was more worried about them not taking the bait. He slowed down, stopping at the beach and making a show out of pulling over and kicking off his shoes, going to grab the towel from the trunk and rolling up his jeans to go wading.  
The first shot came from the mountains, making him duck down and hide behind his expensive car.  
They hadn’t been aiming at him, instead aimed at a black Osiris making its way towards him. He tried to duck back into the car, but they were already upon him and he had no choice but roll over the hood to avoid getting mowed down.  
His trunk popped open, having not been closed properly to begin with. Kerry and Jeremy popping out with guns. They looked a bit ruffled from riding around cramped together in the spacious trunk, but both looked viciously pissed off.  
“This is for Jacklyn,” He could swear he heard them yelling, but he was more concerned about trying to get into his own car. It was locked from that side, and as he tried to fish out his keys, the Osiris was coming back for another pass.  
“Jack,” He heard someone yell, before a bike pulled up beside him. He had no idea who it was, but he had no choice but to climb on, gripping tightly as the stranger pulled out and headed back towards Mount Chiliad.  
The strange man led him up, taking him off the roads and trails and out of reach of the others. “I think we’re fine here,” Jack said.  
“Jack,” Michael’s voice was loud over the line. “Jack, get off the bike, that isn’t one of us.”  
Jack glanced at the driver, then at the ground. They were going too fast for him to bail out, and if the impact with the rocks didn’t hurt him, he knew that the roll down the steep slope would. “I can’t.”  
There was a gunshot from somewhere, but the driver dodged.  
“Stop that, you fucking moron,” Geoff said. “If they crash Jack’s fucked. He doesn’t have a helmet.”  
Jack took a steady breath, knowing that once they reached the top they wouldn’t have anywhere to go but down and the mountain would be surrounded.  
Whoever was driving wouldn’t let him leave alive.  
He pulled the knife carefully, try not to lose his balance. The slope was steeper now, and he knew what was next would hurt.  
He swung, but was intercepted by the driver herself. A strong hand gripped his wrist and twisted, making him drop his only weapon.  
For a second, it seemed like she was gunna toss him off, but then they reached the peak and she reconsidered.  
She kicked him off the bike once they stopped, a pistol firmly shoving itself under his chin.  
“Give me your radio.”  
“Give her the spare,” Gavin advised.  
Jack fished out the spare, passing it to her wordlessly. She was wearing a helmet still, but he was used to reading body language on a masked person since he was used to Ryan. She was on edge, and there was a big chance he wouldn’t survive this.  
She managed to put the radio on without removing the pistol from Jack’s face, but had to remove her helmet, her hair pinned away neatly in a bun.  
“Okay. So I’m sure you’re all aware by now we have your precious Jack.”  
“And I have your precious Barbara,” Joel Heyman said viciously. “So I’d consider that before you continue whatever the fuck you had planned.’  
“You’re lying,” The redhead said coldly.  
A woman’s pained scream leaked through the radio.  
“Just so you know,” Joel said calmly. “Ryan is with me. And I don’t think he’s having a good day.”  
Lindsay cursed fluidly, shifting her grip on the pistol.  
“A trade then,” She said. “You get Jack, and you let us go.”  
“You must know we won’t do that,” Burnie said. “We can’t let you go.”  
“Lindsay,” Jack tried to sound calm. “Just give up, surrender. You can keep your lives. You can save Barbara.”  
“Please Lindsay,” Michael’s voice was breaking on the line. “Don’t do this.”  
She hesitated.  
She hesitated one fucking moment and the next her head was exploding above Jack, her body slumping down on top of him.  
He screamed, but he had a feeling from the loud screech in his ear that his radio had shorted out anyways. His hands shot out, shoving the body away and he just backpedaled. There was gore everywhere. There was blood everywhere, as well as strands of her too red hair.  
“Stop,” Griffon’s voice came from behind him as he bumped into her legs. Her face was hard as she looked down at him, her shotgun still in her hands. “Don’t walk off the fucking edge of the cliff.”  
Jack just stared at the body in front of him, too shocked to even speak.

It was Funhaus that reached the top first, Adam and Bruce pulling out a blanket to wrap Jack in. He was a mess, both emotionally and physically as they loaded him into the back seat of their pickup and started to lead him back down to the beach.  
Michael met them before they could reach the freeway, and they pulled over to let the redhead climb into the back with Jack.  
The larger man didn’t know what to do, what to say, shaking and splattered with the remains of Michael’s friend. He expected anger, he expected Michael to blame him.  
Instead, Michael just reached for him, pulling him close. “Are you alright? Were you hurt?”  
“No,” Jack said. “I’m fine.” It was a lie, but something seemed to knit itself back together in his chest as the younger man held him.  
They had Barbara on the beach, her Osiris crashed into the water. She was ranting and struggling, obviously aware of what had happened to her soulmate.  
“You,” She said, looking at Jack. “You ruined everything. I’ll fucking kill you.”  
“You did this,” Michael said, marching over to her and punching her full in the face. “You’re the reason Lindsay is dead. She would have never done any of this unless you started it.”  
“Enough,” Burnie stepped in. “She’ll get what's coming to her soon enough. We need to interrogate her first.”  
“I don’t know,” Adam Ellis said, smiling a little coldly. “If I survived the Michael facial treatment, she could too.”  
“Come on,” It was Meg who appeared at Jack’s side, flanked by Jeremy and Kerry. “Let's get you cleaned up.”

They brought him to some beach house, breaking the locks and guarding it as he quickly showered and tossed his clothes in a bag. He had brought extra jeans with him in case he had gotten them wet wading into the ocean, and only his jacket suffered from the blood so he was able to dress again afterwards, shoes still left somewhere near his car.  
He gagged when he realized that not everything would go down the drain, clumps of flesh and red hair being left behind.  
Gavin and Michael were waiting with Meg and the other two, both looking relieved as Jack stepped out looking relatively normal. He grabbed onto them both as if they were lifelines, trying not to break down crying in front of everyone.  
“Thanks Meg,” Gavin said softly. “We’ll bring him home now.”  
“Anytime Gav,” She gave them all a soft smile.  
“I’ll drive his car home,” Jeremy volunteered. Though it's going to need a paint job.”  
“Thanks,” Michael nodded, before they led Jack out to where an old fashioned looking car was waiting for them. Gavin climbed into the back with Jack, wrapping him in another blanket as they headed home.

The others came home late, but as soon as they stepped into the door they were reaching for Jack. Ryan got to him first, pulling off his mask and kissing Jack like he was a lifeline.  
“Are you alright?” Geoff said. “What do you need? What can we do?”  
They were frantic, and after a moment Jack realized why. “I’m okay. I’m…. It was bad. I’m not okay. But I’m not going to run.”  
The others relaxed a fraction, even Gavin and Michael, but they were all still frantic with worry.  
“You were never supposed to be in fucking danger,” Geoff growled. “The next time I see Gus-”  
Jack shook his head. “We had to do it. And it was my fault. I panicked. I should never have gotten on the bike.”  
“You should never been that deep into it all,” Ryan said. “You’re not a fighter. You should have been safe in the car. Or with one of us. We could have put Joel in as bait.”  
“It's over now,” Jack pointed out softly, voice betraying how shaken he still was. “It's over now. We’re finally safe.”  
The next moments were filled with just the sheer need of everyone to confirm they were still alive, confirm they were all still uninjured. They barely made it to the bed, barely remembered to reach for the lube and to be gentler with Jack and Geoff, though the oldest man didn’t seem to remember his injury. Jack lost himself in it all, in the passion and relief.  
Afterwards, he was too exhausted and sore to remember anything but the soft touches of those around him and the five pairs of hands on his pulse points, each subconsciously needing a reminder that he was there.  
And when he woke up hours later, a scream caught in his throat and his heart racing, they were all there and they were all gentle, coaxing him to drink water and just sit up for a while in their arms. Gavin, Ryan and Geoff started to discuss Britain, of Gavin’s hometown and of Gavin’s old friend Dan, who really should come over soon to meet Jack. Ray piped in to tease Ryan about Meg and Risenger hitting on him, though Risenger was married and Michael pointed out Meg seemed to like Gavin more.  
And he slowly relaxed. He slowly settled into soft chuckles and eventually had to lie back down again and sleep.  
The next time he woke it was Michael who was kicking off the sheets like they were imaginary demons. And there was no fuss. They just did the same thing again, cuddling and talking about nothing at all until they slept again.  
In the morning, Jack woke refreshed, headed straight to the kitchen to make breakfast.  
Ryan toddled along behind him, his makeup still on his face though it was so smudged that he looked more like a bowling ball than anything else. Jack idly wondered where the rest of the paint had rubbed off too, but wasn’t even sure if it could be on him or not.  
Ryan turned on the coffee machine and the kettle, before leaning in to kiss Jack again. “What's for breakfast today?”  
“I’m thinking pancakes,” Jack said. “Do you know if anyone wants blueberries or chocolate chips?”  
And they started the first day of the rest of their lives with a messy kitchen and laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for the epilogue.


	20. Final Dregs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all I want to say that you're all beautiful, lovely people and that I want to have all your babies and feed you warm food while we sit in front of a warm fire drinking alcohol. You complete me.
> 
> Its been an absolute blast writing and uploading this story and I've already gone through two nights of freaking out that this is over, so hopefully I'm not a mess tonight. I can't believe my little "oneshot" turned into such a long thing. I might drag this AU back up from the grave for a few one shots, but this is it in terms of big storylines.  
> I'm so glad that I had everyones support during this process, especially Kayasaurus who put up with me constantly messaging her about betaing chapters and messaging her whenever you guys guessed things in the comments, or when you were all in pain, or when I sneakily put hints in my own comments about plot twists or when I had bad puns for titles or when...  
> She got a lot of messages okay?  
> Your comments were the highlight of my day, especially on days when the real world wasn't measuring up and I hope my story made at least one of you smile (though honestly, if the grammar didn't aggravate you the plots probably did).
> 
> Much Love,  
> Lelline

_Two years later…_

Jack leaned back into his seat, fiddling with his ear radio for a moment. He was parked, and this would be his only chance to get it to sit properly in his ear.  
“Gavin, have I mentioned today how much I hate these new transmitters,” He said, voice tinged with good humor. “Are they made out of sharp edges on purpose?”  
“Can I second that?” Ryan’s voice was a purr. “I’m almost there Jack, but I’m coming in hot.”  
“Can you loop around a block or two?” Geoff asked. “Gavin got us a little turned around. We might be a minute.”  
“Christ Gavin,” Michael’s voice could be heard even without the radio. He had been the first to arrive, his role keeping them out of sight, making it easier for him to slip out and get to Jack for a getaway. “What did you do?”  
“It's not my fault,” The brit said. “Geoff asked for directions while I was dealing with the streetlights.”  
“Hey, he gets a free pass for that then,” Kerry said, from his perch on a nearby rooftop. He was just there as backup, and if everything went perfectly he wouldn’t need to leave with them . “Right? This is fucking crazy.”  
Jack had to agree, glancing out at the darkened street from his lofty perch in the cockpit of a private jet. They were parked in the middle of the road, the power shut off in their immediate area and the streetlights just around them set to never let traffic through to the empty road Jack’s massive ride was occupying.  
“Fuck, Jack,” Geoff said after a moment. “Have I mentioned lately how fucking sexy it is when you accomplish the impossible?”  
Jack preened. “Not today, no.”  
“How the hell did you turn it around?” Gavin said. “The plane is bigger than the road.”  
“I landed it backwards,” Jack said, obviously lying but eager to see if Gavin would believe it.  
He did.  
“Really? Really?”  
“Its either that or he landed and just backed up until he had enough room to take off again,” Ray snorted, voice intercut with gunfire. He was riding with Ryan, and it wasn’t surprising they hadn’t lost the cops. The two enjoyed shooting back way too much to settle for hiding in dark corners until the cops lost interest.  
“We’re in,” Geoff said. “Come on, Ryan. We can’t wait for you forever.”  
“One minute before the streetlights reset,” Gavin agreed.  
The sounds of gunfire grew louder, and suddenly a bike was heading up the road, flanked by two cop cars.  
“Ryan,” Jack said, trying to sound calm. “Why are you leading them right into my flightpath?”  
“Oh relax,” The man had mellowed out over the years a little, the lack of obvious threats and Jack’s good nature rubbing off on him. The result was still a little too deadly though. “I’m sure they can move out of the way.”  
“And if they don’t?”  
“We’ll go over them,” Gavin suggested.  
Jack sighed, and Geoff entered the cockpit, taking the other seat and giving Jack a cocky grin. “Happy birthday sexy,” He kissed his cheek, hand brushing Jack’s full beard.  
Jack smiled despite himself, getting ready for an impossible takeoff.  
“Go go go!” Ray chanted as the door to the plane closed with a bang.  
Jack just nodded, even if only Geoff could see it, guiding the plane over the two poor cop cars as they built up speed and took off into the sky.  
Once they were in the air, the other four took turns peeking in to give him quick kisses and wish him a happy birthday. It was all chaste, none of them wanting him to pass the piloting over to Geoff. None of them were half as good as him and as he learn how to drive crazier and crazier vehicles, Geoff was getting more and more insane with his plans.  
Jack loved it. Jack still hated to fire a gun, still hated to see a death in person, but if you gave him anything with two wings, wheels, or at least a motor he would do whatever they needed. He would get them into danger, get them out of danger, and outdrive any poor bastard that tried to keep up.

It was a three hour flight to their destination, but Jack couldn’t complain as they were arriving with a full day of rest and relaxation. The rest of his birthday was spent in the honeymoon suite of a massive hotel, and only a few hours were spared to sleep.  
They’d ordered room service in, though his favourite moment was eating his cake, once they realized they had neglected to pack anything to eat it off of.  
The sheets were probably ruined by the icing but they didn’t care.

The next day they dressed up nice, Jack wearing a new leather coat and black jeans. He wasn’t nervous, though something told him he should have been. He was hardly new at this, even if he was still years away from the experience of the others and he had nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, as he drove their rented truck towards the conference, the radio was abuzz with the latest criminal act in Achievement City.  
The six of them walked into RTX like the celebrities they were, the crowds parting as most of the crews looked at them in awe and jealousy.  
“A fucking jet?” Adam Ellis greeted them, his nose perfectly healed and sporting a new piercing. “You managed a heist and got away from the middle of a city in a private jet?”  
“It was Jack’s birthday,” Ray said with a grin. “We wanted it to be special.”  
“Happy belated birthday,” Adam’s partner said, coming up to Jack to give him a warm hug.  
Jack knew that Joel was doing it just to troll the others, but he still hugged back, having ended up befriending the slightly insane crime lord. “Thanks. How are you both?”  
“Good,” Joel said. “Our little babies are doing so well.”  
“Hey,” Joel Rubin said, coming up from behind him, a wry smile on his face. Funhaus was slowly making their way into the books as the best enforcers RT had, even though they tended to travel most of the time, and dabbled in piracy. “Hey Jack. We’ve got our own booth in the back if you wanna visit us. We’ve got some game running with possessed water bottle machines in it. Its great and we’re going to play D&D.”  
“I’ll have to visit soon then,” Jack laughed.  
Meg and Risenger were the next to greet them, though he was still semi-retired. The woman had went with Ashley when she had joined the head crew of RT and she was dressed in some half provocative leather number.  
“Can I ask?” Jack asked, motioning at her outfit.  
“It's a long story,” She shrugged.  
“You look great,” Risenger smiled at him. “And may I say, you’re a terrifyingly good pilot.”  
Geoff laughed. “I guess that's all anyone is going to talk about this whole conference.”  
“I guess so,” Ashley joined in, professionally dressed but little streaks of teal in her hair. “Sarge wants to see him.”  
“Sarge?” Jack’s eyebrows shot up. The elusive head of RT was rarely spoken of, and it was his understanding that the man never attended RTX. Geoff and Gavin were the only ones who had ever met him, and they were tight lipped about him.  
“Follow me,” She smiled softly, leading him out.  
He shot the others a smile and followed.  
Despite his reputation for not killing, the crowds still gave them a wide berth as they traveled. Jack supposed it had to do with Ashley’s presence more than his own. She was the soulmate of Burnie, and even if she wasn’t interested in leading with him, she was still more respected than she would have been normally.  
They went to a little office at the end of the hallway on the top floor, the outside marked with a sign stating it was a janitor’s closet.  
Inside was a office that would make Don Draper envious.  
There was a lone man inside, his chair turned away from the door as he stared out over the city. “Come in, have a seat.”  
Jack gladly obeyed, sitting down in a lush office chair and wondering why he was there.  
Ashley left, closing the door behind her and the other man finally turned.  
He was surprisingly normal looking, almost looking like a tired father of three more than the biggest, baddest secret boss of every decent criminal in North America.  
“Good morning, I’m sure you know who I am,” He said, “I’ve heard you’ve got quite the skill at driving.”  
‘I do my best,” Jack murmured modestly. “I’ve got more to learn.”  
“Well, I think you’re good enough for my latest plan,” He said. “How would you feel about landing a plane in Las Vegas.”  
“Vegas?” Jack asked, surprised.  
“Here, let's get you a drink,” Sarge rose, headed for a coffee pot. “Coffe?”  
“No,” Jack felt a wry grin cross his face. “I absolutely hate that stuff.”

RTX was surprisingly fun after the first day, the crews relaxing enough to just hang around each other. People approached Jack occasionally to ask questions and express admiration, but one of his mates or one of the other big crews would chase them off after a few questions. He saw Griffon, though he was still a little intimidated sometimes by her. There had been something in her eyes when she had killed Lindsay that he could never shake.  
Jack flew them home on the last night, though he didn’t protest when Michael offered to drive their truck home. He bundled into the back with Ray and Ryan, leaning into the latter as he rested his eyes.  
They had settled on a new home, a two story penthouse with more room for their larger family.  
It was homey, not as sophisticated as their old place but with more hints of being lived in. There was two bathrooms, and the bedroom was large enough to accommodate the largest custom bed ever created. Changing the sheets was sometimes a nightmare. They had switched to one large walk in closet, and Jack’s section was nearly the largest only because his lovers seemed to have a kink about wearing his clothes.  
Above the bed, was a long list of sentences, documenting all the ways they were linked together. It was Jack’s favourite thing to look at sometimes, and Gavin had installed a few low intensity lights behind it, so that when they woke in the middle of the night to terrors or other horrors they could see the words lovingly traced out in different color inks. The words were crude sometimes and Gavin’s handwriting was atrocious, but it was theres.

And they never grew tired of it.

When they grew old it stayed there. When Geoff and then Michael ended up too busted up to keep working, it stayed up there and kept them company whenever the others took an odd job.  
Ryan was the next to retire, but surprisingly he took it with the most grace. He never complained, but he did relax a little more when the last three gave in and retired with him.  
They put the painting up above their bed when they moved to their new mansion overlooking a lake in the middle of nowhere. They didn’t bother with the lights, mostly since none of them could see it that easily in the dark anymore and even Ray, the youngest, couldn’t see without bifocals anyways. They took up fishing, took up hunting, and as Geoff turned 70, Ryan and Michael took him up to hunt wild Moose in Canada, with Jack driving their private plane with the same skill and grace as he had in his youth.

Jack was somehow the last of them to pass on.  
He hadn’t minded. They had lived to ripe old ages, lived longer than most people and he had spent 40 years by Geoff’s side before he passed away.  
After that it had been like a slow clockwork. Ryan hadn’t been able to handle losing Geoff, fading away with soft reassurances that he was ready to move on. Michael had been the same, pushing himself too hard in his grief and ending up succumbing to pneumonia.  
Gavin and Ray held on longer. They were the liveliest, and Jack supposed that they wanted to keep him going. Jack had lost his mobility, but had encouraged them to enjoy themselves.  
Gavin had died in his sleep at 76. Ray had followed soon after from a heart attack at 75.  
And now Jack was alone in his house, smiling fondly up at the painting even if he couldn’t see the words anymore. He was sick, he was sick and he was 81, with five soulmates already gone on without him.  
He wasn’t sad. He wasn’t scared. Because he knew that he had spent over 50 years being loved by the five people who had known him best, and if there was an afterlife, or if there was reincarnation they would be there, waiting.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will truthfully answer any questions now instead of acting like I'm gunna kill everyone off. I'm open to prompts, or even just sharing head cannons


End file.
